Professor Susan Schuppli

Staff details

Position Director & Professor in the Centre for Research Architecture
Department Visual Cultures
Email s.schuppli (@gold.ac.uk)
Phone +44 (0)20 919 7035
Professor Susan Schuppli

Susan Schuppli is an artist-researcher and writer. She is currently Director & Reader of the Centre for Research Architecture. Through investigative processes that involve an engagement with scientific and technical modes of inquiry, her work aims to open up new conceptual pathways into the material strata of our world.

While many projects have examined media artefacts—photographs, film, video, and audio transmissions—that have emerged out of sites of contemporary conflict and state violence, current work explores the ways in which toxic ecologies from nuclear accidents and oil spills to the dark snow of the arctic are producing an “extreme image” archive of material wrongs. Creative projects have been exhibited throughout Europe as well as in Canada, Asia and the US.

She has published widely within the context of media and politics and am author of the forthcoming book, Material Witness (MIT Press), which is also the subject of an experimental documentary. 

She is an affiliate artist-researcher and Board Chair of Forensic Architecture. Previously she was Senior Research Fellow and Project Co-ordinator of Forensic Architecture. In 2016 she recieved the ICP Infinity Award for Research and Critical Writing.

Academic qualifications 

  • PhD Cultural Studies & Research Architecture (Goldsmiths, University of London) 2009
  • Whitney Independent Study Program 1996
  • MFA Media Arts (University of California San Diego) 1995
  • BA Fine & Performing Arts (Simon Fraser University) 1991

Teaching

Prior to teaching at Goldsmiths , Susan was based in Canada where she was Associate Professor in Visual Art at Western University, Assistant Professor at the University of Lethbridge and an Instructor at Emily Carr.

Area of supervision

Susan welcomes research proposals that situate themselves at the intersections between space, politics, aesthetics, and media. She supervises dissertations that are rigorously theoretical yet pursue their research inquires through practical engagements with materials, sites and processes. Whether these are creative projects or emerge out of ethnographic fieldwork they are understood to be the means by which research is pursued and ideas tested.

Of particular interest are projects that examine architectures of media in recognition of the increasing significance that media plays in our access to and analysis of spaces of political conflict. From the micro-scale of buildings and infrastructure to the macro-scale of borders and global flows, space is understood as an elastic medium constantly reshaped by political and mediatic forces. 

 

Research Interests

Material Witness

This research introduces a new operative concept — the material witness — an entity (object or unit) whose physical properties or technical configuration records evidence of passing events to which it can bear witness. Whether these events register as a by-product of an unintentional encounter or as an expression of direct action, history and by extension politics is registered at these junctures of ontological intensity. Moreover, in disclosing these encoded events, the material witness makes ‘evident’ the very conditions and practices that convert such eventful materials into matters of evidence.

Through the series of case studies I chart the appearance of a material witness that arises first out of the physical substances of filmic emulsion, magnetic particles, photo-chemistry, metal and dust and then later out of the immaterial realms of bandwidth and code. I track these entities in order to explore the ways in which matter archives and refracts the complex histories of violence in which it is implicated and, by extension, examine the condition of informed materiality that discloses its processing, renders visible the systems in which it is embedded, and activates its political potential.

The crucial role that forensics plays in this research is not that of an investigative technical probe directed towards uncovering the ‘true’ reality-traces and absolute histories encoded by matter as might be the case with the practices of forensic science. Rather its role is that of highlighting what new understandings are required of matter and the processes whereby matter comes to matter discursively, in order for the material witness to overcome its purely legal designation or metaphoric expression and function as an operative concept in its own right: material as witness.

Publications and research outputs

Book

Schuppli, Susan. 2020. Material Witness: Media, Forensics, Evidence. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. ISBN 9780262043571

Book Section

Schuppli, Susan. 2019. Arguments: Should Videos of Trees have Standing? An Inquiry into the Legal Rites of Unnatural Objects at the ICTY. In: Richard K. Sherwin and Danielle Celermajer, eds. A Cultural History of Law in the Modern Age. London: Bloomsbury Academic, pp. 99-128. ISBN 9781474212854

Schuppli, Susan. 2018. Should Videos of Trees have Standing? An Inquiry into the Legal Rites of Unnatural Objects at the ICTY. In: Danielle Celermajer and Richard Sherwin, eds. A Cultural History of Law in the Modern Age. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781474212854

Schuppli, Susan. 2017. Computing the Law / Searching for Justice. In: Boris Buden,; Maria Hlavajova and Simon Sheikh, eds. Former West Art and the Contemporary after 1989. MIT Press: MIT Press. ISBN 9780262533836

Schuppli, Susan. 2016. Dirty Pictures. In: Mirna Belina, ed. Living Earth: Field Notes from the Dark Ecology Project 2014-2016. Amsterdam: Sonic Acts Press, pp. 190-208. ISBN 978-90-823216-2-3

Schuppli, Susan. 2015. Law and Disorder. In: Christoph Cox; Jenny Jaskey and Suhail Malik, eds. Realism Materialism Art. Berlin: Sternberg Press, pp. 137-143. ISBN 9783956791260

Schuppli, Susan. 2015. “Slick Images: The Photogenic Surface of Disaster.”. In: , ed. Extra City. Antwerp: Extra City.

Schuppli, Susan. 2015. “War Dialling: Image Transmissions from Saigon.”. In: , ed. Mythologizing the Vietnam War: Visual Culture and Mediated Memory. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, pp. 144-158. ISBN 978-1443854429

Schuppli, Susan. 2015. “Radical Contact Prints”. In: , ed. Camera Atomica. London: Black Dog Publishing London UK, pp. 277-291. ISBN 978-1908966483

Schuppli, Susan. 2014. Can the Sun Lie? In: , ed. Forensis: The Architecture of Public Truth. Berlin: Sternberg Press, pp. 56-64. ISBN 9783956790119

Schuppli, Susan. 2014. Entering Evidence: Cross-Examining the Court Records of the ICTY. In: , ed. Forensis: The Architecture of Public Truth. Berlin: Sternberg Press, pp. 279-314. ISBN 9783956790119

Schuppli, Susan. 2014. Uneasy Listening. In: , ed. Forensis: The Architecture of Public Truth. Berlin: Sternberg Press, pp. 381-392. ISBN 9783956790119

Schuppli, Susan. 2014. Forensics / Tape 342. In: Malzacher Florian, ed. Truth is Concrete: A Handbook for Artistic Strategies in Real Politics Ed. Florian Malzacher. Berlin: Sternberg Press, pp. 221-223. ISBN 978-3943365849

Schuppli, Susan. 2013. “Atmospheric Correction.”. In: , ed. On the Verge of Photography: Imaging Beyond Representation. Birmingham: Birmingham Article Press, pp. 16-32.

Schuppli, Susan. 2013. “The Most Dangerous Film in the World (Reprint).”. In: , ed. Materialities. Gdańsk: Wyspa Progress Foundation / Wyspa Institute of Art, pp. 241-272.

Schuppli, Susan. 2013. “Public Service Announcements: Art for the Coming Community.”. In: , ed. Service Media. Chicago: Green Lantern Press, pp. 115-122. ISBN 978-1450742160

Schuppli, Susan. 2012. “Impure Matter: A Forensics of WTC Dust.”. In: , ed. Savage Objects. Portugal: Imprensa Nacional Casa da Moeda, pp. 120-140. ISBN 9789722720717

Schuppli, Susan. 2011. Tape 342: That Dangerous Supplement. In: , ed. Cabinet No. 43: Forensics. Cabinet, pp. 86-89. ISBN 978-1932698428

Schuppli, Susan; Weizman, Eyal and Tavares, Paulo. 2010. Forensic Architecture. In: Adrian Lahoud and Charles Rice, eds. Post-Traumatic Urbanism: Architectural Design. John Wiley & Sons, pp. 58-63. ISBN 978-0470744987

Schuppli, Susan. 2010. The Most Dangerous Film in the World. In: Frederik Le Roy; Nele Wynants and Dominiek Hoens Vanderbeeken, eds. Tickle Your Catastrophe. Ghent: Ghent University, the KASK (Ghent Royal Academy of Fine Arts) and Vooruit, pp. 130-145. ISBN 978-9038217222

Schuppli, Susan. 2009. Reading Radiological Film. In: Karl Lyden, ed. Site / Documentary narratives & non-fictional narrativity in film and art 28.

Article

Schuppli, Susan. 2014. “Deadly Algorithms: Can Legal Codes hold Software accountable for Code that Kills?”. Radical Philosophy(187), pp. 2-8. ISSN 0300-211X

Schuppli, Susan. 2013. “Half Truths”. Mute,

Schuppli, Susan. 2013. “Walk-Back Technology: Dusting for Fingerprints and Tracking Digital Footprints.”. Photographies, 6(1), pp. 159-167. ISSN 1754-0763

Schuppli, Susan. 2013. “Probative Pictures: Image Proofs in Errol Morris’s Standard Operating Procedure.”. CV93(91), pp. 20-28.

Schuppli, Susan. 2012. A memorial in exile in London’s Olympics: orbits of responsibility. Open Democracy,

Schuppli, Susan. 2012. Atmosfärisk Korrigering. Glänta, 4(12), pp. 12-21.

Schuppli, Susan. 2012. Material Malfeasance: Trace Evidence of Violence in Three Image-Acts. Photoworks, 17, pp. 28-33.

Schuppli, Susan. 2010. “Improvised Explosive Designs: The Film-Set as Military Set-Up.”. Borderlands, 9(2), pp. 1-18.

Schuppli, Susan. 2008. Curse of the Mummy: Oral Affliction or Archival Aphasia. Memory Studies, 2(2), pp. 167-186. ISSN 1750-6980

Schuppli, Susan. 2008. Of Moths and Machines. Cosmos and History : the Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy, 4(1-2), pp. 286-306. ISSN 1832-9101

Schuppli, Susan. 2007. Fallet Med De Förlorade 18-½ Minuterna. SITE 18.19,

Schuppli, Susan. 2004. “Picturing Place: Photography and the Geographical Imagination (Book Review).”. The Canadian Geographer, 48(4), pp. 505-506.

Project

Schuppli, Susan. September - October 2021 initial period of fieldwork HEAR: Himalayan Experiments in Acoustic Research.

Schuppli, Susan. 2021-22 COLD POLITICS.

Schuppli, Susan. 2013-22 GEO-MEDIA.

Schuppli, Susan. 2019 - 2021 LEARNING FROM ICE.

Schuppli, Susan. 2016-2023 NUCLEAR COMMONS.

Exhibition Catalogue

Schuppli, Susan. 2017. Le subterfuge des écrans / The Subterfuge of Screens.

Show/Exhibition

Schuppli, Susan. 2017. The Images of War. In: "The Images of War", Stockholm, Sweden, 20 September 2017 – 14 January 2018.

Schuppli, Susan. 2017. Moscow Biennale. In: "Clouds ⇄ Forests", Moscow, Russian Federation, 19 September 2017 – 18 January 2018.

Schuppli, Susan. 2017. Material Truths. In: "Material Truths", Site Gallery, Sheffield, United Kingdom.

Schuppli, Susan. 2017. Resolution is not the Point. In: "London Art Fair", London, United Kingdom.

Schuppli, Susan. 2016. Forensic Architecture. In: "Reporting from the Front", Venice, Italy, May 25 – November 27 2016.

Schuppli, Susan. 2016. The Sun Placed in the Abyss. In: "The Sun Placed in the Abyss", Columbus, Ohio, United States, October 7, 2016 to January 8, 2017.

Carpenter, Ele; Mabb, David; Crowe, Nick; Craighead, Alison; Schuppli, Susan and Weir, Andy. 2016. Perpetual Uncertainty, exhibition. In: "Perpetual Uncertainty", Bildmuseet, Sweden, 2 October 2016 - 16 April 2017.

Carpenter, Ele; Mabb, David; Craighead, Alison; Crowe, Nick; Schuppli, Susan; Takeuchi, Kota and Kobayashi, Erika. 2016. Material Nuclear Culture, Exhibition. In: "Material Nuclear Culture", KARST Gallery, United Kingdom, 17 June - 13 August 2016.

Schuppli, Susan. 2015. Allegory of the Cave Painting. In: "Allegory of the Cave Painting", Extra City, Belgium, Sept 20 - Dec 7 2015.

Schuppli, Susan. 2015. 10th Shanghai Biennale. In: "The Social Factory", Shanghai, China, November 23 2014 – March 31 2015.

Schuppli, Susan. 2014. Hlysnan: On the Notion & Politics of Listening. In: "Hlysnan: On the Notion & Politics of Listening", Casino Luxembourg, Luxembourg, May 17 – September 7 2014.

Schuppli, Susan. 2014. Animism. In: "Animism", Ilmin Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea, Republic of, 6 Dec 2013 - 16 Mar 2014.

Art Object

Schuppli, Susan. 2019. Disaster Film.

Schuppli, Susan. 2016. Delay Decay.

Schuppli, Susan. 2015. Uneasy Listening.

Schuppli, Susan. 2015. Tape 342: A timeline of testimony.

Schuppli, Susan. 2014. Evidence on Trial.

Artist's Book

Schuppli, Susan. 2022. Singing Ice: Ladakhi folk songs about mountains, glaciers, rivers, and steams.

Audio

Schuppli, Susan. 2022. ICE RECORDS: Sonic explorations of the climate records captured in ice sheets and glaciers.

Schuppli, Susan. 2022. Community Satellite Station.

Schuppli, Susan. 2017. Unnatural Media.

Schuppli, Susan. 2016. Sound of Sand.

Conference or Workshop Item

Schuppli, Susan. 2018. 'Shapes of Decay: A Discussion about Art and Ecology'. In: Shapes of Decay: A Discussion about Art and Ecology. Tate Modern, United Kingdom 24 APRIL 2018.

Schuppli, Susan. 2018. 'Evidence in 74 million million million tons'. In: Evidence in 74 million million million tons. New York, United States April 29, 2018.

Film/Video

Schuppli, Susan. 2024. Moving Ice.

Schuppli, Susan. 2023. Listening to Ice.

Schuppli, Susan. 2022. Gondwana.

Schuppli, Susan. 2022. COLD RIGHTS.

Schuppli, Susan. 2021. Cold Cases.

Schuppli, Susan. 2021. LEARNING FROM ICE: NOT PLANET EARTH.

Schuppli, Susan. 2021. Research Reflections & Recordings.

Schuppli, Susan. 2020. LEARNING FROM ICE: Svalbard Arctic Archipelago.

Schuppli, Susan. 2017. Atmospheric Feedback Loops.

Schuppli, Susan. 2016. Trace Evidence.

Schuppli, Susan. 2015. Material Witness.

Schuppli, Susan. 2014. Can the Sun Lie?.

Professional Activity

Schuppli, Susan. 2017. Consultant to the V&A.

Thesis

Schuppli, Susan. 2009. Entangled Matters: Analogue Futures & Political Pasts. Doctoral thesis, Goldsmiths, University of London

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