Field Notes

“Field notes can be written descriptions, sketches, photographs and anything else that helps to document and preserve information. They are the raw data and information we collect in order to help us analyse, interpret and remember.

One major disadvantage of taking field notes is that they are recorded by the observer and maybe subject to (a)memory and (b)the possibility of conscious or unconscious bias of the observer.”

Helens work is inspired by the landscapes she experiences around her. From the gritty urban streets of London to the wild and raw beauty of the Cornish landscape where she currently resides. She searches for the essence of these places, investigating how we connect, absorb and translate our surroundings.

Through a constant process of observing and memory banking whilst out walking, she collects sensory impressions and visual references using sketchbooks and photography which are later evolved in her studio.

Images are drawn, collaged, printed and reworked, adding, subtracting and editing. Details are omitted, gestures and marks added, leaving fragments and impressions remaining.

Helen favours techniques and media that are immediate and unpredictable, such as monotype and paper lithography printmaking. This allows a dialogue with the raw materials, responding at each stage to what has gone before. Elements of drawing are added and combined, building compositions and surfaces that leave  traces of the creative process visible, bringing importance to the journey as much as destination.

The work evolves as an intuitive visual journey of moments and qualities rather than a visual representation, with the intention to inspire or provoke the viewer to their own recollections and introspection.