2026 Artist-in-Residence: Susie MacMurray

Susie MacMurray 

Susie MacMurray is the Trust’s 2026 artist-in-residence. Working in close dialogue with Vindolanda’s remarkable Roman textile collection, Susie is researching and developing a new artwork to be exhibited at Vindolanda in Autumn/ Winter 2026.  

Susie MacMurray (right) with Morag Iles. Image credit: Jonny Walton

Susie’s artistic practice includes sculpture, site specific installation and drawing, with an exploration of materials at the core. Susie has an interest in fragility and sensuality, the immersive and the ephemeral. These sit alongside processes of building up, layering and orchestrating material in the form of repetition. The repetition and layering in Susie’s work means that although she trained and sees herself as a sculptor, she often has one foot in the textile world. 

Vindolanda is home to the largest collection of Roman textiles in Western Europe. Woven almost exclusively from the wool of northern sheep, the collection includes a wide range of textile fragments alongside tools in textile production. Among the most rare and fragile objects are woven items made from a local plant called hair moss (Polytrichum commune). With its strong, hair-like fibres, hair moss was ideally suited for use in different types of woven objects. One of Vindolanda’s most exceptional discoveries is a wig (or possibly a hat) featuring a complex woven cap and long, loose strands that fall to shade the face.  

Hair moss plant. Image credit: Jonny Walton

During her 20-day research period, Susie was given exclusive access to the Trust’s textile collection and research. This included time with specialists, researchers and local makers, each of whom informed Susie’s understanding of Roman textiles and their production. Whilst in residence, Susie experimented with raw materials, including hair moss, Soay sheep wool and wax; employing and modifying ancient techniques to explore how the Roman’s may have processed these materials. Reflecting on her residency at Vindolanda Susie shared:   

“I am ultimately driven by curiosity and asking ‘what if?’. I am looking not only for new materials, but for new ways to handle, combine and manipulate the stuff that human bodies interact with.”  

Image credit: Jonny Walton

Susie will develop this research into a proposal for a new temporary artwork for the Vindolanda museum.