Helen has many works for sale arranged in sections throughout the site. Please click on the portfolio link to view more works.
“Though misogyny is one of the most tenacious prejudices, it has changed and evolved over the centuries, moderated or exacerbated by prevailing social, political and, above all, religious currents. A dramatic transformation in the history of the hatred of women occurred with the rise of Christianity and the promulgation of the doctrine of Original Sin.” *
My work is concerned with destabilising gender and reversing the female submissiveness advocated by Christianity, politics and social conditions. Christianity has given us the controlled and submissive image of Woman, and throughout most of art history Women have been presented as passive and controlled objects of the Male gaze. From the perspective of a female artist working from the female gaze, it has become apparent that sexual representations of men have caused concern for notions of dominant masculinity because male power is tied to looking, rather than being the object of the gaze. Taking influence from Butler’s Gender Trouble, my 2d work is created using water-based ink to create a bleeding and merging of colour within a finely defined area in order to demonstrate the fluidity of gender. Relationships can be destroyed by inequality and power imbalances, and the colours I use represent this potential damage. My sculptural work is both life-size and sculpted from life, and its direct emotional power challenges the viewers preconceptions associated with gender.
*Jack Holland in A Brief History of Misogyny: The World’s Oldest Prejudice, Constable & Robinson Ltd, 2006, page 6.
Emerging British artist with work held in private collections in UK, Europe and USA and Australia. a vital component of Helen Gorrill's work is the human figure, using conventional sketchbooks and the discipline of life drawing to develop into larger paintings and sculpture.