at Fifty is the first collection dedicated to Stephen Sutcliffe. Both a microcosm and macrocosm of the processes at play in his works, it is also something of an artist's book, one that, typical of the artist's critical practice, formally addresses questions about the value of the monologue, the archive, and the status of the artist.
at Fifty documents how Sutcliffe's work has developed and how the means for channeling his deconstructive sensibility have been honed. It includes commissioned essays and an interview with the artist. Dan Fox's essay, “Be In My Broadcast, When This Is Over,” looks at television, that one-time pillar of British culture that was as formative for him as it was for Sutcliffe. “Overlaid, Not Removed,” by Ilsa Colsell, focuses on Sutcliffe's use of collage for the deft yet deliberately overt repurposing of signs and symbols. And an interview conducted by Michelle Cotton delves into Sutcliffe's assimilation of interruptions, creative blocks, and anxiety. Taken together with the artist's vision for this special publication, at Fifty brings to life, for the first time in book form, a remarkable and distinctive practice that now spans more than twenty years.
