Sue Williams (born 1956 in Cornwall) is a British visual artist, trained, living and working in Wales. [1]
Sue Williams was born in 1956 in Redruth, Cornwall. [2] Williams studied art in Cardiff in the 1970s, later getting her Master of Arts from Cardiff College of Art (UWIC). [1]
Williams made the news in 2009 when she was awarded £20,000 from National Lottery funds (via the Arts Council of Wales) to finance a study of cultural attitudes towards women's bottoms. [3] [4] She explained to the Western Mail that the money would cover living costs while she built up a new collection of three dimensional work, which would partly consist of plaster casts of all parts of women's bodies. "My present work stems from a desire to visually explore and understand issues related to the feminine ideal - the desire to change body shape, the pressure to create perfection and to compromise a personal identity" she said. [5] Williams had been inspired by a visit to Zimbabwe, where her work had been taken down from two galleries because it portrayed women's backsides. [5]
Williams was a member of the 56 Group Wales between 2008 and 2009. [6]
In 2009 Williams visited China to study their gender politics and the dynamics of communication between men and women. She was invited back again in 2013 to take part in a touring exhibition called Open Books. The exhibition subsequently toured to Australia. [7]
Her work is represented in the collection of the University of South Wales. [8] She is currently a lecturer in fine art at University of Wales Trinity Saint David in Swansea. [7]
In 2000 Williams was the recipient of the Welsh National Eisteddfod Gold Medal for Fine Art [9] and the Rootstein Hopkins Foundation Award for painting. [1] In 2005 she was one of eight shortlisted artists (the only British representative) for the second biannual Artes Mundi Prize. [10]
Sue Williams (born 1956 in Cornwall) is a British visual artist, trained, living and working in Wales. [1]
Sue Williams was born in 1956 in Redruth, Cornwall. [2] Williams studied art in Cardiff in the 1970s, later getting her Master of Arts from Cardiff College of Art (UWIC). [1]
Williams made the news in 2009 when she was awarded £20,000 from National Lottery funds (via the Arts Council of Wales) to finance a study of cultural attitudes towards women's bottoms. [3] [4] She explained to the Western Mail that the money would cover living costs while she built up a new collection of three dimensional work, which would partly consist of plaster casts of all parts of women's bodies. "My present work stems from a desire to visually explore and understand issues related to the feminine ideal - the desire to change body shape, the pressure to create perfection and to compromise a personal identity" she said. [5] Williams had been inspired by a visit to Zimbabwe, where her work had been taken down from two galleries because it portrayed women's backsides. [5]
Williams was a member of the 56 Group Wales between 2008 and 2009. [6]
In 2009 Williams visited China to study their gender politics and the dynamics of communication between men and women. She was invited back again in 2013 to take part in a touring exhibition called Open Books. The exhibition subsequently toured to Australia. [7]
Her work is represented in the collection of the University of South Wales. [8] She is currently a lecturer in fine art at University of Wales Trinity Saint David in Swansea. [7]
In 2000 Williams was the recipient of the Welsh National Eisteddfod Gold Medal for Fine Art [9] and the Rootstein Hopkins Foundation Award for painting. [1] In 2005 she was one of eight shortlisted artists (the only British representative) for the second biannual Artes Mundi Prize. [10]