Susu Laroche

Susu Laroche is an anagram of Chaos Lure Us and a multidisciplinary artist of Egyptian and French descent. She works with analogue film and photography, music and drawing and is most interested in performance of melodrama for the camera, ancient civilizations and history.

Q: WHAT WAS YOUR ROUTE TO YOUR CURRENT ARTISTIC PRACTICE?

My dad was a photographer. I came across his cameras in my teens and began studying photography at A Level. It was love at first sight, I basically lived in the darkroom. Since then I’ve incorporated 16mm film, drawing and music into my practise, a tactile approach has always remained. The medium is the muse.

Q: CAN YOU IDENTIFY ANY ELEMENTS OF YOUR COMMUNITY OR COLLABORATORS THAT HAVE HAD A STRONG INFLUENCE?

My favourite people inspire me with their passion and defiance against normality. From artists and those whose role is more of an activator, to people who I just find exciting to talk to, all those different levels of interaction contain a clarity which inspires me. I believe it’s possible to carve a sense of autonomy within this city, even if it’s temporary. Resistance isn’t futile, some of us are here to fight. I always have this conversation with my friend Jan who runs London’s Venue MOT, he’s a prophet. Friends and collaborators such as Oxhy, Stanley Schtinter, Zoe Wiliams, Ben Burgis – to name a few, whose output consistently enthralls me. Everything is totally unique, fearless and so deeply skilled, it makes me want to work harder.

Q: HOW IS YOUR PROJECT TIED TO THE CIRCA X DAZED CLASS OF 20:21 THEME OF ‘COMMUNION’ ?

It was the first film I’d made since 2018, I was asked by the Beeler Gallery to make a film in response to lockdown. It’s about that reckoning period and being forced to commune with yourself, performing an exorcism of the drama within. Sometimes it feels a bit like the work you make is the answer to a question that you weren’t ever able to vocalise, you drag this work into being and they meet at last. My film work always concerns performance for the camera and I was keen to work with Blackhaines inimitable skills and utilise my own relatively new practise in sound. I named the film Caer Lud corresponding to Iain Sinclairs’ book ‘Lud heat’ and the myth of King Lud, buried at Ludgate. Lud is the medieval name for London, I was born here and it’s always been my playground. Soaking up the freedom and emptiness of it during lockdown gave it an even more mythical and purgative edge, an empire in the eye of the beholder.

Q: HOW WOULD THE CIRCA PRIZE OF £30,000 IMPACT YOUR FUTURE PRACTICE?

The prize would enable me to realize something that would truly feel like an accomplishment. My mission is to create a long film, something around 45-60 minutes. I paused my film practise in 2018 as it suddenly became extremely expensive – instead I got back into still photography and started learning how to make music. I’ve been able to produce two short films in the last year or so, creating the soundtracks for them too, and returning to this medium made it obvious what my next step should be.

I love making films, the entire process is so challenging in a very tormenting and deeply satisfying way.. There are mediums which require much less budget and reliance on other people. Being adaptable with that is great but it doesn’t diminish the inner fire that rages for the bigger dreams. A prize like this would have an immense impact on my film practise, artistic conviction and output.

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