Narratives in Times of Absurdity by Norman Sutton-Hibbert

About the Exhibition:

Sutton-Hibbert is a multi-disciplinary artist working in a wide range of media. He aims to reflect that this is necessary to his artwork, and in particular to the work, he will showcase as part of the exhibition ‘Narratives in Times of Absurdity’.  The exhibition will be held at the RGI Kelly Gallery, 118 Douglas Street, Glasgow

For many years now Sutton-Hibbert has had a very real interest in using fabric and other found items in his work. Much of this fabric is from personal clothing, or functional household items – which he believes bring with them the DNA, or history of the person who wore or lived with them. 

The same can be said of other material such as collage, or familiar objects. As a lifelong student of history – and today is tomorrow’s history – he has always been inclined to draw on the experiences of others, and also himself, in times where circumstances beyond our control, be they good, bad or just plain absurd, impact on our lives in a wide variety of ways. And it is these narratives that he chooses to represent in his artwork.

Sutton-Hibbert examines the plethora of media platforms to which we, as a society, are exposed and how we are made very aware of the lives and experiences of others throughout the world. So many of the narratives or stories, depicted in Narratives in Times of Absurdity examine his personal experience and the connection to historical past and present.

About the Artist:

Sutton-Hibbert studied at The Glasgow School of Art from 2010-2015, where he obtained a 

BA (Hons), studying sculpture, and then an MLitt in fine art practice. He has also been a member of the Glasgow Print Studio for over twenty years. 

Undoubtedly his reading of what I refer to as being the experiences of others and myself, are influenced by his 30+ years of working as a Social Worker/Mental Health Officer. He supported both children and adults of all ages throughout his professional life.           

Sutton-Hibbert was continuously making art in his spare time when working as a Social Worker/MHO and began exhibiting in the early ’70s. The first work accepted for inclusion in a group show was exhibited in Nuremberg, Germany. Beyond that time Sutton-Hibbert has regularly shown work with most of the major organisations in Scotland and is a professional member of the Society of Scottish Artists and the Paisley Art Institute. In addition, over the years, he has had a number of solo exhibitions with the last being Kinder, Kinder (inspired by the Kindertransports which took place between 1938 and the outbreak of WWII) in 2019. This exhibition was about the impact that the attitudes and behaviours of adults have had on children throughout the ages, including the present times.