MEANS explores the work of two exciting visual artists
MEANS constantly has an ear to the ground for contemporary artists working across a range of disciplines. This post marks the first of our new online series, where we showcase two artists whose work we particularly admire. Check them out below!
Susan Plover
Susan Plover is an emerging artist who considers their work as a vehicle for questioning and navigating personal mythology. Working with found images and collage, images are juxta-posed with re-contexturalised art historical references to drive new narratives. Exploring relationships and the human condition – with an eye on the dramatic and the playful in equal measure – Susan’s work implores you to look at the world in a new way, conveying a deeper meaning beyond the sum of its subverted images and assembled fragments. Extending beyond “paper art”, her practice crosses boundaries erected around collage, drawing, painting and sculpture to create fresh hybrid combines. Her pieces have a female voice, a challenging narrative and often a dark tension.
Her work ‘Hope’ responds to the theme of MEANS 3: created during COVID and reflecting the artists experiences during that unique time, it is part of a series of explorations entitled ‘Behind Closed Doors’ that saw the artists curating an online exhibition of experiential art during lockdown.
Check out more of her work over at www.susanplover.co.uk
Madeleina Kay
Madeleina Kay is an artist and activist, awarded ‘Young European of the year’ (2018), and MA Fine Art Graduate, Central Saint Martins (awarded Student Rep of the Year 2024 & 2025). In 2019, she was awarded a ‘Democracy Needs Imagination’ grant from the European Cultural Foundation to deliver her project ‘The Future is Europe’, which was awarded the Charlemagne Youth Prize in 2020. She has written, illustrated and self-published nine books and contributed writing to the German National Library’s ‘House of Europe’ book (2020), ‘The Other Side: An Emotional Map of Britain’ by GraphicDesign& (2020) and ‘Ways of Protest’, by Round Lemon’ (2020). She has written and performed protest songs at events across Europe, including ‘The Right to Vote’ exhibition opening at the National Justice Museum, UK (2018), Glastonbury Festival, UK (2019), Aachen Town Hall (2022), the European Parliament (2023 & 2025) and Stormont, NI Assembly (2024).
Her work ‘Hate Dress’ is comprised of a full-length garment featuring the recreated text of real-world social-media abuse received by the artist, positively channelling hate into creative expression. The work highlights the frightening and omnipotent online discourse that surrounds us, and how words are weaponized against people who dare speak out. The work is accompanied by a text-piece, “A Thread of Empathy,” as well as participatory workshops exploring feminist resistance through textiles.
Find out more about Madeleina’s work at wwww.madeleinakayart.com
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