Artist statement
"The drawings for her degree show, which reverse the female submissiveness advocated by a religious pamphlet posted through her door, put women in a dominant position while the men are bent and bound in sexual submission. The male figures have been censored, but to protect whom? The spam I receive contains more indecency than Ms Gorrill's work, and it is much less interesting because she makes a valid point." The Observer on Sunday/The Guardian in 'Britain is not radical enough'
Most recently, I have been working with 'collage', reconstructing the female form from recycled materials, inspired by Hannah Hoch's 'Cut with the Kitchen Knife' work from the 1920s. Not dissimilar to Hoch's inspiration, the reality for many women in recessional 2012 includes entrapment in low-paying jobs and subjection to male-dominated hierarchies. Whilst my collages have been described as vivid and visually striking, a closer look raises a question-mark over the issue of equality, revealing the posed women as fractured and torn, reconstructed from the broken imagery of the dream of the perfect housewife in 1950s magazines, juxtaposed with the content of contemporary 'lads mags'.
Much of my work questions the submissiveness of women advocated by religion, particularly in my investigation of Christianity and the representation of the Virgin. My work has grown increasingly towards mixed-media and sculpture/installation. I also work with unexpected found/lost objects, such as reclaimed prosthetic limbs and medical applicances, combining these with traditional 'feminine' techniques such as stitch and embroidery. People are often afraid to discuss religion and it remains one of our last taboos, a subject we are afraid to discuss for fear of causing offence. With even Western restrictions on the media's criticism of any religious practice, male-controlled religion will continue to dominate and underpin our society. My feminist subject matter is deeply disturbing, and to me vital in speaking the unspeakable.
Qualifications and training
- 2011 BA (Hons) Contemporary Applied Arts (First Class), University of Cumbria, Carlisle
- 2009 Degree in Drawing (FDA - First Class equiv), University of Cumbria, Carlisle
Employment
- 2012 Lecturer in Painting and Drawing, Cleveland College of Art & Design, Middlesbrough
Solo exhibitions
- 2011 DEICIDE, DegreeArt.com Gallery, London (more info)
- 2011 London solo exhibition, DegreeArt Gallery, Vyner Street, London
Group exhibitions
- 2012 Religionis Violenta, West Bank Gallery, London
- 2012 Womart2, Funoon Gallery, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- 2012 20:12 Collective The Olympics, The Execution Room at Degree Art Gallery, London
- 2012 Exposition Georges Bataille, Galerie Hors-Champs, Paris
- 2012 Intersections, World Class Centre for Science, Newcastle upon Tyne
- 2011 Artist of the Week Award exhibition, Salon Contemporary Gallery, Westbourne Grove, London
- 2011 21st Century Pin-ups, Fine Arte Gallery, Bond St, London
- 2011 21st Century Pin-ups, Fine Arte Gallery, Paris
- 2011 I-SHO: 73 Women of Feminist Art, The Gallery, Stoke Newington, London
- 2011 New Designers 2011, Business Design Centre, Islington, London
- 2010 Censored Zine, Islington Metal Works, London
Degree shows
- 2011 Emerge 2011 (First Class) - degree Show, Faculty of the Arts, University of Cumbria
- 2009 Seven Deadly Sins (First Class) - degree show, Faculty of the Arts, University of Cumbria
Competitions, prizes and awards
- 2012 Shortlisted for 2012 Passion for Freedom international artist Award, Unit24 Gallery, London, adj Tate Modern, London
- 2011 Selected for Cartazini Award, Galerie Cartazini, Paris
- 2010 Artist of the Week award, Salon Contemporary Gallery, Westbourne Grove, London
- 2009 The Burnetts Award for Drawing, The University of Cumbria, Cumbria
- 2009 The Stead McAlpin Creative Travel Award, The University of Cumbria, Cumbria
Publications
- 2012 'The National', United Arab Emirates
- 2012 Toute La Culture
- 2012 Art Croissance
- 2011 The Bleed Magazine
- 2011 Embroidery Magazine
- 2011 Helen Gorrill's interactive confession chamber; Zeitgeist Magazine
- 2010 The Erotic Chair, Skin Two Magazine
- 2010 When is Helen Gorrill going to blow up, Curbs & Stoops magazine, Rhode Island, USA
- 2009 Why Britain is not radical enough, The Observer on Sunday / The Guardian, Published London
Other
- 2012 Elizabeth A Sackler Center for Feminist Art artabase, The Brooklyn Museum, New York
Web links - article/press
Personal website
