Roots in Two Worlds

Suzanne is a Brisbane-based mixed media artist working mainly with acrylic, pen, pencil and, most recently, gelli prints.
 
Deaf from birth, Suzanne has always used art as a means of communicating, involving herself in the community, and making sense of her world. As a child, before she learnt to speak, Suzanne would create artworks using rocks on the beach. As an adult living with schizoaffective disorder, art helps her stay mentally healthy and feel more balanced in life.
 
Suzanne has completed two art courses at TAFE; one in her twenties in Meadowbank, Sydney, and one in her forties in Brackenridge, Brisbane. Throughout life’s ups and downs, art remains Suzanne’s anchor, allowing her to blossom and rediscover herself time and time again. ________________________________________________________________________________________________

As a Deaf artist with schizoaffective disorder, my work reflects resilience and identity shaped by lived experience. ‘Roots in Two Worlds’ examines belonging. My gelli prints are created through an uncontrollable process that often produces mistakes, which initially felt defeating. Yet layers of bronze, copper, and 24ct gold pen transform these imperfections into richness and depth. This intuitive approach allows my art to reveal vulnerability, adaptation, and complexity without sentimentality.