“Deeper meaning resides in the fairy tales told me in my childhood than in any truth that is taught in life”

Johann Schiller German poet (1759 – 1805)

HELEN BACK ARTISTS STATEMENT FOR TODAY

ADAPTATION

I think my work is about people ‘breaking’
and how when ‘broken’ we find ways to adapts and rebuild ourselves,
the traits we adopt
and hide,
secrets we keep,
lies we tell,
the crutches we lean on and the strange things we gather around us for comfort and shelter
and then how,
when we are ‘mended’,
we creep slowly back into society to limp along with everyone else.
I liken my work to,
well
lets say,
a cup that has been used often, dropped and broken and glued many times back togethers so that the pieces don’t really fit anymore. It’s still essentially a cup, but now it has a wobble unreliable handle or maybe no handle at all just a sharp piece sticking out where the handle used to be, its all chipped and has a slow leek but its still a cup.

I think that’s my work – well today anyway

Helen Back