Programme
Sue Man: TRAPPED: HAIRY MATTER(S)
Sue Man: TRAPPED: HAIRY MATTER(S)
Exhibition 4– 6 April 2025 12-5pm | Opening event: Thursday 3 April 6-8pm
Metroland Cultures is pleased to present a sharing of work by current Peer to Peer artist Sue Man.
TRAPPED: HAIRY MATTERS is a micro solo installation exploring memory, identity, and the quiet anxieties of aging and grief. Using hair suspended in gelatin within aluminum takeaway boxes, the exhibition reflects on what we keep, what we lose, and what lingers over time.
The artist explains that “Jelly and gelatin hold deep personal and cultural significance. They recall childhood memories of Robertsons mango-flavored jelly from Hong Kong found in Stockholm’s only Asian supermarket in the early 1980s. It was also a treat for my mother when she was growing up in the 1960’s. Jelly just speaks to decadence and the Chinese devotion to collagen is unconditional.”
Hair, like memory, carries traces of life— stories, and time itself. It is kept as a baby’s first curl, nutritional status, stress hormones, and lost with age. In some cultures, hair carries symbolic significance, such as strength, identity, or even spiritual power. In this show, it appears as something both familiar and unsettling, raising questions about beauty, decay, and what is deemed acceptable or repulsive.
The idea of being ‘trapped’ runs through the work, reflecting moments of stillness, loss, and bodily change—whether caring for a beloved but ailing pet or the frustration of a trapped nerve with no clear cause beyond time passing. These personal moments unfold into broader reflections: How do we react when caught in discomfort? Why does loose hair provoke disgust, yet remain desirable when attached to someone?
Through texture, form, and material memory, TRAPPED: HAIRY MATTERS unravels ideas of grief, womanhood, imperfection, and what we choose to hold onto—or let go.
This is the eighth exhibition platforming the work of Metroland Cultures’ Peer-to-Peer artists, where the gallery is used to test new work or as a site of further production.
About Sue Man
Sue Man (b. Stockholm, Sweden) is a London-based artist of Chinese heritage. Her participatory and multidisciplinary practice explores the textures of cultural heritage, the flavours of memory, and the intricate weave of belonging and identity. Working across mixed media—including textiles, clay, and food—she creates spaces where personal and collective narratives are shared, resilience is nurtured, and futures are reimagined.
As an artist, cultural programmer, and community builder, Sue uses materiality and conversation as tools for reconciliation, connection, and resistance. She repurposes her family trade in hospitality to mobilise intergenerational narratives within underrepresented communities. Through tactile forms and shared experiences, she invites others into spaces of reflection, resistance, and care. Her work bridges art and activism, creating platforms for dialogue, challenging systemic inequalities, and fostering solidarity through shared cultural experiences.
Since 2009, Sue has facilitated creative projects with institutions such as the Southbank Centre and Museum of the Home, as well as grassroots organisations. Through art, collaboration, and collective action, she cultivates spaces where cultural exchange flourishes, empowering communities to reclaim and reshape their own narratives.
Sue is part of Metroland Culture’s 2024/5 Peer-to-Peer cohort.
More on at Metroland…
Metroland Exhibitions Programme 2024/25
A look at the exhibitions coming up in our gallery.
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The Kilburn Print Workshop is a commission with artist Heiba Lamara dedicated to community publishing and print and design education.