Press Coverage

The Sunday Times, 12 December 2010:
"At various locations around the Bank of England, Philipsz has installed a choir of fragile sound pieces that import poetry and warmth into this cold investment quarter. I particularly recommend seeking out her piece under London Bridge. It's brilliant." (Waldemar Januszcak)

London Evening Standard, 7 December 2010:
"Chair of the Turner Prize jury and Director of Tate Britain Penelope Curtis told me that the jury stuck to the rules and did not consider Surround Me in the deliberations. But Surround Me is so outstanding that it must have been in the back of their minds." (Ben Luke - read full article)

The Guardian, 7 December 2010:
"Surround Me insinuates itself down alleys and courtyards... her voice like an Elizabethan ghost, singing melancholy works by John Downland and other 16th and 17th composers. I have stood in shadowy old courtyards and between gleaming office blocks, weeping as I listen. And how many artists can you say that about? Her sense of place, and space, memory and presence reminds me, weirdly, of the sculptor Richard Serra at his best. Her art makes you think of your place in the world, and opens you up to your feelings." (Adrian Searle - read full article)

The Wire, December 2010:
"It would be too easy to draw simplistic parallels with the demise of the current financial system, but in the empty alleys of the City of London, it is timely to be reminded that goods have been hawked, loves have been lost, and tears have flowed here many a time before." (Peter Meanwell)

London Evening Standard, 8 November 2010:
"Surround Me is far from a sombre experience. Philipsz's laments draw attention not just the old City but the diverse architecture that has sprung from its embers: the contemporary steel and glass of Milk Street, the 1930s glazed bricks of Change Alley, the shabby concrete bunkers on Moorfields Highwalk and Tokenhouse Yard's Victorian edifices. " (Ben Luke - read full article)

The New York Times, 13 October 2010:
"Human yet ethereal; soothing yet melancholy; invisible yet strangely physical: The work of Susan Philipsz is contradictory, to say the least... [Surround Me] is made up of a "constellation" of installations, featuring recordings of the artist singing overlapping versions of 16th century folk songs, or madrigals, at different spots around the financial district. While she says she appreciates the clarity and simplicity of indoor spaces, Ms. Philipsz's real love is work in outdoor public spaces." (Gemma Halsey  - read full article)

The Observer Magazine, 14 November 2010:
Philipsz does seem drawn to dark songs. The song at London Bridge can be interpreted as a cry from those who have disappeared beneath the waters of the river... "I think most people are fascinated by mortality", concludes Philipsz. And, as we walk away, the sound comes after us, as if it doesn't want us to escape." (Lena Corner - read full article)