John Sunderland

Bio

John Sunderland is a mixed media visual artist, archaeologist and researcher. He has developed a hybrid practice, drawing on the rigor of archaeology and the openness of arts practice to interpret heritage in changing landscapes in new ways. Over decades he has developed a transdisciplinary practice with outcomes ranging from exhibitions to art and archaeology commissions, residencies and academic publications. Recent work includes a residency at The Glass Factory, Boda, Sweden, resulting in the solo exhibition Touching darkness (2019) and another residency on an archaeological excavation also resulting in a solo show Touching Time (2023) at the Droichead Arts Centre Drogheda.

More generally he has been exhibiting since the 1990’s both nationally and internationally, he holds a BA in Fine Art (1991, Sunderland University) an M.A. in Documentary Photography (2006, University of Wales, Newport) and undertook a practice-based PhD that investigated the visual perception and interpretation of landscape change, resulting in the thesis In Flux, land, photography and temporality (2015 University of Northampton).

He continues to work both in Sweden and in Ireland and is currently working on two multi-disciplinary projects. In Sweden he is a member of a team of scientists and artists investigating an illegal toxic waste dump in the Wastestock project. In Ireland he is the initiator and project manager of Beneath our Feet, an interpretation of the results of a rescue archaeological excavation in the heart of medieval Cork undertaken in advance of construction. This involves archaeologists, visual artists and oral historians and will culminate in an exhibition in St Peter’s, North Main Street Cork in September 2025. This project is funded by Creative Ireland, Cork City Council and the Arts Council.

Artist Statement

Art is not everything.  Although I am a visual artist, I understand that it is not the only thing that people are passionate about. For me, it is one of the ways that I do research. It is not so much about making beautiful things, although these are good by-products, but a process to investigate the subjects and issues that I am passionate about and put pressure upon me. As a tool of research, it offers a particular language that comfortably communicates with subtlety, ambiguity and even subliminally. It is good at asking questions, and provoking engagement in the beholder.

When I find that art is not enough, then I turn to other ways of working, incorporating methods and outcomes from other disciplines into my practice. Over the years this has developed into both a transdisciplinary and occasionally a multi-disciplinary practice, depending on the project. I am well versed in archaeology, having worked in it professionally, and also spread myself into other mind worlds, including ecology, cultural geography and philosophy, in fact, anywhere that deals with the complexities of our senses of place. This is because it is from our perceptions and understandings of spaces and places that we understand the world around us and the issues that impact us, and the rest of life on earth.  My work is about how we understand and live our natural and cultural heritages and what relevance they have in the present and for the future.

My art practice has its roots in visualization and is increasingly mixed media as I experiment with ways that have the potential to cross disciplinary boundaries. I seek the best way to deal with the subjects I engage with and if art is not enough, then I turn to other means, including writing and collaboration with other specialists.  Currently this includes oral historians and archaeologists and other artists.

Email samsunderland@gmail.com

Website www.johnsunderland.com

Membership: Backwater Artists Network