Helen Ingram's artwork explores the sociological in art through bold vibrant dramatic color palettes that dismantles and reconstructs messages set in society. Whether this is animal cruelty; humans relationship with animals and nature, stereotypes and categorization; how we live are our lives through a means of la… Read More
Helen Ingram's artwork explores the sociological in art through bold vibrant dramatic color palettes that dismantles and reconstructs messages set in society. Whether this is animal cruelty; humans relationship with animals and nature, stereotypes and categorization; how we live are our lives through a means of labels and categories, segmenting and fracturing culture into labels. Helen's artwork goes to crash, collide and re-embrace different cultures together through interactions and connections that we share in society. Helen's most recent work explores the sociology involved with humans relationship to color and the abstract painted image and how this is perceived by the viewer.
Helen's artwork demonstrates bold vibrant color through the pop art palette having strong outlines and colorful block fills within the composition. This strong use of color is evident in such pieces like 'Hunting', 'S', 'Drummer' , 'Culture Map' and more recent pieces like 'Anorexic' and 'Abstract series five'. Helen is most definitely a colorist. Helen's use of deconstructing and reconstructing messages is most evident in 'Disillusion' a piece which is fragmented, distorted and far fetched. A piece that uses angular panels contrasting brightness, tone, color and fashion figure's characteristics, as a character. A piece that reminds people of a renewed self, a desire to be something new. The piece although is printed uses the process of collage combining Photoshop, found materials and painted imagery that goes to questions social identity through fashion. In the animal cruelty work it explores issues of hunting, make up use on animals, habitats and fur trade industry in such pieces of 'Ocelot News' and 'Huntress'. The animal cruelty project relates to sociology as although as people we know its wrong to hurt animals we still allow it to happen and as a society we sit back.
In stereotypes work is aimed to break barriers and the judgmental nature that society has created through looks, who we are, and what we do, the work demonstrates how as a society we label and categorize. Then in 'Culture Map' Helen takes these philosophies and flips them upside down through researching about a cultures origin's and the connections they share through other cultures. This breaking barriers of difference and breaking the stereotype philosophy we hold in society. Helen's work also demonstrates interactions through 'Street Dance' and 'Rocker' two pieces that are meant to be viewed parallel to one another, the 'Street Dance' taking the role of performer and 'Rocker' taking the role of audience. The two opposing pieces go share an interesting sociological relationship, as in society we view them as separate cultures but Helen goes to play on this sociology of labeling by confusing the viewer and making them wonder these two opposites can work well together as an art piece.
In her more recent work of exploring the sociology involved with how humans perceive color. How the eye struggles to see certain colors together. In these works Helen is pushing the notion of the abstract further by fragmentation, blurriness and distortion creating imagery that not only becomes more computer manipulated and computer coded and looks less like the original. The works use the color cycle associated with color theory in art. These ideas of how we as humans see colors have so far only been utilized through video and Photoshop and the originals in watercolor on paper.
The reasons as to why my practice is involved around sociology is very much to do with my life experiences of being bullied, how I learnt to deal with issues surrounding my everyday thoughts and life. I have always been intrigued by how things work, why I think differently, am different and see the world differently to others. Throughout my life I have always been surrounded by chaos and noise my only sanctuary being that of art and gentle strolls along the Lea Valley. Where I can empty my mind and relax. In a way I guess when i am expressing these sociological themes I am letting go of an inner demon, a thought that has troubled me and then being free. So I guess my art is like the program 'Room 101' I want to discard these thoughts but first have to establish why they are there in the first place.
My overall vision in my practice is to let people or the viewers know its ok to be you and that what makes you unique. I went though out life trying to be like everyone else and it's only now that the chaos has calmed down that my work has started to move direction and head more towards the sociology of color through the means of abstract.
Recently I have moved away from the area of fine art and has started to carry on with my poetry for a while as this is an avenue which I haven't explored since the age of sixteen. Read Less
