Claire Helman

Helman’s work emanates from her Jewish identity, her study of sacred texts and Jewish mysticism and her practice of prayer, ritual, song and meditation. Although she lives in London, her art is inspired by the landscape and seascape of the North Norfolk coast, the Cornish coast and more recently Puglia, Italy.

Helman’s spiritual practice and creative practice are deeply entwined. Both connect with something that is beyond every day practical life, which has roots in this world. Her response to the landscape and her Jewish identity and practice connect her to something divine, to worlds beyond this one.

Helman enjoys the juxtaposition in her creative practice, between the concrete and practical – the making of things – and the meditative and spiritual, which can come from using her body and hands in repetitive ways. It is important to her that the sacred is not hidden away in a beautiful building, it is something we access in everyday life.

Helman uses flexible and rough raw materials: torn, frayed edges, unstretched canvas, hanging and draped fabrics. She likes to make her own paint, enjoying the deliberate, slow process of beginning with pigment and ending with sculptural pieces.

Helman begins with a concept and its articulation: learning, researching, writing and visualising. This leads her to ideas and decisions on visual forms including materials and palette, putting a set of limitations around the body of work.

When she makes work, she is led by what the materials are doing. Her process is a conversation between material and concept, including pauses, silences, and discoveries. Her work is experimental and constantly evolving.

clairehelman.my.canva.site/about
@clairehelman1