Susan Hiller Interview: Stories from the Other Side

A cascade of voices belonging to people who have been declared physically dead, but lived to tell the story, comes together in a ghostlike installation of 104 screens. Experience the intriguing art installation by the influential American artist Susan Hiller (b.1940 - d.2019).
‘Channels’, the installation artwork Hiller discusses, centres on death and near-death experiences. The 104 television screens, which the artwork consists of, are programmed with visuals in shades of blue - echoing the “screen of death” in computer terms and the “stand-by screen” in TV-terms - and a myriad of voices belonging to people who have had near-death experiences. The result is fascinating and somewhat uncanny.
Hiller is interested in investigating certain occurrences, such as near-death experiences, which have become subject to ridicule and even embarrassment: “The point is that the stories are there, and it’s worth looking into them.” The incidents furthermore seem to contradict the common belief that the brain is a source of consciousness or reality.
Susan Hiller (b.1940 - d.2019) is an American London-based artist. In the early 1980s she began to make innovative use of audio and visual technology. Her groundbreaking installations, multi-screen videos and audio works have achieved international recognition and are widely acknowledged as a major influence on younger British artists. Hiller’s works are based on specific cultural artefacts from our society, which she uses as basic materials. With a practice extending over 40 years, she has been recognized by mid-career survey exhibitions at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts (1986), Tate Liverpool (1996) and Tate Britain (2011). For more about Susan Hiller see: www.susanhiller...
Susan Hiller was interviewed by Kasper Bech Dyg in connection with her exhibition ‘Channels’ at Den Frie Centre of Contemporary Art in Copenhagen, February 2015.
Camera: Kasper Kiertzner
Produced and edited by: Kasper Bech Dyg
Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2015
Supported by Nordea-fonden

[@luciafarinati1366]

Thank you Susan, such a great work, Lucia

[@bahi-art]

I'm really late to knowing of her and her work, although she's influenced and moved me a lot recently (with this particular piece as well). Bless her soul

[@carlaborel224]

I miss Susan

[@geoff_ery]

I can’t imagine how terrifying it would be to approach death and experience nothing other than death.

[@seigneurjesuistoipshaw.5359]

+Geoffery Gandolfe you mean you are scared of nothing then? 0;-]

[@DeadFlowers69]

@@seigneurjesuistoipshaw.5359 I know what he means. It's hard for the human brain, or at least my brain to wrap around the thought of "nothing". Something that's hard to comprehend can be frightening.

[@seigneurjesuistoipshaw.5359]

@@DeadFlowers69 Nothing does not exist. Anywhere!