Planet209 Revisited: Past & Present Relics of Visual Experiments is a retrospective of works by artist Sue Morgan. Morgan began drawing when schizophrenic illness forced her retirement from corporate law in the late 1990s.
She has said that “none of what I do is serious” but the 200 works shown in this exhibition address issues in ways that can be very serious – as well as scientific, artful and playful – and demonstrate Morgan’s wide-ranging artistic practice.
Morgan’s art began as a therapeutic practice to “get all this crap out of my head”. Her later works evoke a spirit of scientific exploration, with echoes of architectural blueprints and research notes. But their subjects are often the alternative realities that are created within her “mad head”, planets populated by microscopic creatures who exist in an impossible and wretched state of perpetual happiness.
After completing a doctorate in German philosophy, Morgan trained and worked as a corporate tax solicitor before becoming ill – the number 209 in the exhibition title refers to an obscure piece of tax law she was working on at the time of her first hospital admissions. Unable to use her analytical skills, Morgan started to draw. She was forced to retire from her work, did a degree in drawing, and has not stopped making art since.
Early works made in hospital can be interpreted primarily as mood diaries, whereas later works are more research-based documents about neuroscience and phenomenology.
Sophie Leighton, Director, Bethlem Gallery said: “Sue Morgan’s retrospective will be particularly special as it’s taking place 23 years after her first solo exhibition with Bethlem Gallery. Her work has helped to shape the gallery and the work that we do, and continues to keep us on our feet, expanding our practice as well as challenging us to think philosophically about life and the impact of mental ill health.”
Bethlem Gallery is unusual in that it is set within the grounds of Bethlem Royal Hospital, the world’s oldest psychiatric institution.
Bethlem Gallery, Bethlem Royal Hospital, Monks Orchard Road, London, BR3 3BX until 27 April 2024.
Opening times: Wednesday to Saturday 9.30am to 5pm,
Admission: FREE
Exhibition website page: https://bethlemgallery.com/whats-on/planet209/
