Helen Gørrill

Portfolio: The Chamber

The critically acclaimed Benedict XVI Confession Chamber has now been archived in The Elizabeth A Sackler Center for Feminist Art Artabase, at The Brooklyn Museum, New York.

"Gorrill’s interactive Benedict XVI Confession Chamber is an anti-tribute to the current Pope’s decision to edit women out of the bible in his new book for children.The Chamber contains 100 secret and sealed confessions from outstanding art world and feminist figures who supported the project, including The Guerrilla Girls, Catherine Opie, Peggy Ahwesh, Alexis Hunter, Melanie Manchot, Allyson Mitchell, and hundreds of others who remain anonymous"

“Gorrill's confession chamber is a fascinating affair, it works on so many levels and has endless depth to it...Having already gained national and international press attention for her controversial drawings showing anonymous men in sexually submissive positions, Gorrill describes her work as exploring 'feminist concepts of power and control, that investigate enforcement, reinforcement and reactions to patriarchal society.' With the subject of patriarchy so immediately apparent in her new project, I can't help but wonder whether Pope Benedict XVI has gone slightly beyond this concept with his decision to just omit the existence of women from his new children's book completely..." Zeitgeist Magazine, July 2011