Exhibition: Susan Brightman - It Could Have Been Me
Susan Brightman - It Could Have Been Me
There is a tendency in Britain to do nothing, instead of something, especially in response to the deepest tragedy. A former Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral, London, said “No man is an island entire of itself.” What happened in West Cumbria on 2 June 2010 did not come from nowhere. The human rights lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith has said that “the desire for suicide is rooted in the inability of those around us to support us in living a happy life.” The actions of Mr Derrick Bird, who undertook a murderous and suicidal journey on 2 June 2010, speak of intolerable psychological pain. As a nation, we need to look for, to hear and to heed the lessons of that desperately sad day.
That is the purpose of the forthcoming exhibition “It Could Have Been Me” by the completely unknown artist, Susan Brightman. This is a sculptural visual arts show which requires the active participation of the viewers to complete several of the works.
Susan Brightman was born in 1959 and spent her formative years in West Cumberland (now Cumbria). Later, she trained formally as a geographer and, mostly, informally as an artist. Both disciplines involve synthesising information from apparently disparate sources to create something new. This, and Sue's particular life experience, give her a distinctive perspective on the difficult issues raised by the events of 2 June 2010.