10 Questions with Susan Sitko

Susan Sitko is a Polish multidisciplinary artist currently working in Brighton, UK. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Illustration from the University of Brighton in 2023. Her photography series Sensitive Flesh and The Vessel have been recognized for the poetic exploration of moments where humanity merges with the natural world. In both projects, she includes many tactile elements that result in images with a unique sensory quality. This allows her work to create stillness and awareness of existence. Using various floral elements, raw clay forms, and the human body, she designs complex worlds that capture the surreal qualities of her visual language.

Her work has been featured in the Portrait of The Self exhibition at Sage Gallery (Bangkok), the Now Is The Time exhibition focused on womxn artists (Brighton), as well as in the group show Birthday Tears (London).
While exploring innovative avenues of expression, her art continues to evolve, and she remains committed to pushing the boundaries of contemporary photography.
Currently, she is working on a group exhibition in London and a personal photography series related to her fascination with the ocean.

susansitko.com | @susansitkophoto

ARTIST STATEMENT

“I treat my work as an exploration of living. My particular interest lies in the human connection with nature, identity, and femininity. It is something beyond simple knowing, creating its bonds through our senses, emotions, and compassion. Exploring these themes evokes a deep level of intimacy and creates a profound awareness of time and space. It’s important for me to capture all this within my photographs. I enjoy working in the stillness of the landscape. This allows me to observe the connection with the physical space. The belonging it creates, but also the feeling of fleeting, as if we are constantly losing that bond.

My process is very meticulous. I plan every element of the photoshoot, but on the day, I let the material or the space I’m in lead the way. It’s almost as if they tell me how they want to be photographed. This kind of relationship only exists when I just focus on the here and now. No other distractions. Letting go of preconceptions in order to capture those innermost feelings. It’s raw and true to who I am. It challenges the viewer to see those feelings within themselves and stay with them for a moment.

Accepting the bliss and harmony but also the discomfort and emptiness. Only in those brief moments can we truly understand and appreciate the flow of life.”

— Susan Sitko

INTERVIEW

Let’s talk about yourself first. You work primarily as a photographer but studied illustration at the University of Brighton. How did you shift to photography? And why?

I think I’ve always visualised my creative ideas in a way that was meant to be translated into photography. When I started university, my main goal was to tell stories that would translate my feelings, and that’s why I decided to study illustration. I was lucky enough that my course was very open in terms of what kind of art we wanted to create. During my second year, I took a photography module where I first started to develop my work in that direction. It was really eye-opening, but I didn’t fully commit to photography until my final year. That’s when I realised that I could finally express myself and my concepts just how I imagined. Soon after that, projects like Sensitive Flesh and The Vessel were born. It was as if I could finally bring my creative visions to life and reach my full potential. I’m also very grateful for the amazing tutors who understood my ideas and pushed me in the right direction. This gave me that last bit of support I needed to see myself in the role of a photographer and fully immerse myself in that world. Since then, I haven’t looked back, and I truly love what I do. 

Does your background in illustration help you in your current practice? And if so, how?

I think my concepts and ideas draw a lot of inspiration from illustrative thinking. This allows me to avoid looking at photography with a certain preconception of what it should look like. It creates that freedom of expression that I really appreciate in my practice. The way I think about my work is also very sculpture-like, putting together different elements like bodies, props and various materials to create something that feels fresh to me. The whole process is very intuitive and helps me challenge the boundaries of conventional photography. 

In your statement, you mention how your series Sensitive Flesh and The Vessel have been recognised for the “poetic exploration of moments where humanity merges with the natural world.” Do you think humanity is usually separated from the natural world? And what do you see at the confluence of these two realms? 

I’m fascinated by this kind of relationship. How we usually view living close to nature as something from the past, yet I feel like we all starve for that closeness to be restored. At the end of the day, we are all part of nature and all its cycles and rhythms. We can’t live on this planet without it, so why do we try so hard to separate ourselves from it? 
I spent a big part of my childhood summer holidays in a rural town on the west coast of Poland which is where a lot of my inspiration and love for nature come from. Throughout my work, I enjoy sourcing from those feelings. That’s how The Vessel series was created. 
In more abstract projects like Sensitive Flesh or Transparency, I use a lot of floral elements. It’s quite nice to work so close to nature but show its different sides. 

What are your main sources of inspiration? Do you draw from fiction, like literature and movies, or do you rely on personal experiences, perhaps revisited?

A lot of my inspiration draws from the experiences and feelings I’ve had throughout my life. The time I spent on the Polish West Coast, fully immersed in the beauty of the local National Park, was especially important to me. It’s a place where my mum and I would stay for most of the summer, separated from society and just living alongside nature, forests, and the beautiful Baltic Sea. Experiencing all this taught me a lot about the ties between humans and nature, as well as how to respect the natural world. I always mentally revisit those memories when working on projects.
I also can’t talk about inspiration without mentioning my grandmother, Anna, who was the symbol of feminine energy and nurture throughout my adolescence. Thanks to her, I think I truly understood the core of femininity, which allowed me to capture various sides of experiencing the world as a feminine presenting person. There is something very captivating in the multifacetedness of this theme, which often leads the way through my photography.

You also include tactile elements in your works; how do you include them? And what do they represent for you and your work?

The tactile elements mostly come from how closely I work with the materials I use. The shooting process is very hands-on and up close. For the more abstract photoshoots with flowers, I want the viewers to feel the image just by looking at it. That’s why I often use unconventional materials that let me achieve very tactile results.
It’s an important quality in my work since that’s how I personally view the world. It’s kind of like when children explore by touching everything. I love to explore ideas this way. I feel like this process might seem simple and almost naive, but I think this is what gives my images a vulnerable and intimate quality. I enjoy childlike simplicity that gets rid of the unnecessary distractions and essentially, it is what allows me to be more abstract and immersive within my ideas.

Ultimately, what messages would you like to convey with your work? 

I think that is quite a big question, but ultimately, it’s to create a reason to explore those more natural parts within us that lead us closer to our true selves. I would like my work to give people space to be more vulnerable. Living in harmony with nature and giving yourself time to look more closely is a message to live more aware of the flow of life. 

Do you plan to experiment with any new medium or technique? And if so, in which direction would you like your work to develop?

In The Vessel series, I especially enjoyed working on the ceramic pieces that would become the key elements throughout the photographs. I think it would be great to focus on building larger pieces like this, either with clay or even other materials. For my upcoming project, I would also like to experiment with lighting on location in order to create more surreal qualities while still being in the natural environment. It definitely presents its challenges, especially for more remote locations, but I’m determined to bring this creative idea to life.

On that note, what are you working on right now? Do you have any new projects or series you are currently developing? 

Yes! I’m currently developing a new series inspired by my fascination with the ocean. I’m excited to work on the English coast and capture its beauty. I always wanted to create a project connected to the water and sea, sourcing a lot of inspiration from my childhood memories. Although I can’t share much right now, I think it will bring some great results. It’s always very exciting to work on a new project, and I’m looking forward to seeing where it takes me. 

What is your biggest goal for 2024, both personal and career-wise?

For 2024, I want to push my creativity in new directions but also give myself time to develop my work. I think there’s sometimes a lot of pressure to rush through developing ideas and jump straight into making, which I never liked. I want to take my time and be more ‘selfish’ in terms of what I actually spend my time on. I have a really good feeling about 2024, and I’m excited to see what else this year will bring. 

And lastly, where do you see yourself and your work five years from now?

Still creating, of course! Hopefully, working on some new and exciting projects with amazing people to continue bringing my visions to life. At the end of the day, I love to create visual poetry and work that makes you think and feel something deep within, so I hope I can continue doing that. 
I also want to keep contributing to the conversation around femininity, identity and nature, pushing the boundaries of artistry even more and as a result, creating more engaging art.

Artist’s Talk

Al-Tiba9 Interviews is a promotional platform for artists to articulate their vision and engage them with our diverse readership through a published art dialogue. The artists are interviewed by Mohamed Benhadj, the founder & curator of Al-Tiba9, to highlight their artistic careers and introduce them to the international contemporary art scene across our vast network of museums, galleries, art professionals, art dealers, collectors, and art lovers across the globe.