Cert: 15

Perhaps because her breakthrough film Asparagus (pictured) accompanied Eraserhead on the midnight movie circuit, the work of Suzan Pitt has often been compared with that of David Lynch.  He has talked about fishing the subconscious for his ideas, and it’s clear that Pitt sets out from a similar place; led by dream logic and a process of ‘interior sense-making’, with no clear idea of an end goal. The result is a small but unique body of work, tricky to pin down or explain but often breathtakingly beautiful and capable of crawling under your skin in unexpected ways.

This rare retrospective will feature all of Pitt’s key works from the surrealist visual orgy of Asparagus (1978) to the UK premiere of her latest short, the haunting Visitation (2011). The production process behind them tends to involve intensive 35mm cel animation not dissimilar to the way it was done in Disney’s day, but with room for all sorts of other techniques including scratching, claymation and sand animation. This helps to account for the long gaps between films, although Pitt’s career also covers a fascinating range of other work including expanded cinema, opera, music video, environmental activism and of course her first love painting. An artist with a singular vision, we’re thrilled to welcome Suzan Pitt to Flatpack.

Tags: Suzan Pitt, animation, asparagus, surrealism, Mexico