Artist Deep Dive: Seven key works in Helen Britton's The Story So Far

A deep drive into seven key works by Helen Britton, from her current exhibition The Story So Far. 

In this audio tour, Helen describes how she made each work, her techniques and materials, and the stories behind each piece.

The Story So Far is a major solo, touring exhibition that honors Helen Britton as the tenth artist in the series Living Treasures: Masters of Australian Craft.

Living Treasures recognises eminent Australian craftspeople, celebrating their mastery of skill, their achievements and the unique place they occupy in the national design culture. 

Featured works and excerpts

1. My Godmother's House

A set of 20 photographs taken in northeast New South Wales near Yamba on Yaegl Country.

 Over several years I took over 700 photographs. We've selected twenty for the exhibition. What was really fascinating for me were the collections within the house. Shell collections, stone collections, gathered objects and how they were arranged.

And then, of course, the path of time. So you'll often see the dust. I was very interested in photographing the the dust as a metaphor, the material reality of time passing.

2.  The Mysterious Path of Matter and Time

A small cabinet framed by branches.

 A work made out of my childhood detritus [using] a cabinet that I made about 30 years ago, and cement branches.  The cement branches does give it a ritualised, almost relique object-like atmosphere, which is what I was trying to achieve.

It's also in the true sense of the expression cemented into eternity.

Cement is a very interesting material because it is so stable and has such a long life. And it's an ancient material, which I think we also tend to forget.

3.  Junkyard Three

A monumental necklace made of many parts.

 I've created a piece using absolutely everything I could find leftover in my studio, and put it together. I've used the circle and bone catch for many years. For me, it is an interesting way to close a necklace, a circular necklace, with these two symbols.

And the rest of the pieces in Junkyard Three are often leftovers from my industrial series. Works preoccupied with the kind of environment that I grew up with in Newcastle in the 1970s and early eighties where BHP was kind of at its peak. For example, all of the barrels and rods that you would see lying around on the periphery of industrial areas.

4.  The Magic Cupboard

 When I was told I was to be the Living Treasure of Australian Craft, I decided to create a kind of 'cabinet of wonders' that included everything going back to my early childhood, the things that kind of triggered my imagination over all of those years. And include archival works.

On the bottom shelf, there is a porcelain plate painted by my godmother that she made that as a gift to me. She was very interested to make something not conventional, because she thought I'd appreciate that more. It's quite a dynamic drawing of geckos.

On the top shelf are a pile of airplanes made by my brother.

In the drawer, some of my dolls, put to rest.

5.  The Big and The Small Things

A large wall piece of paintings and jewelry depicting animals and bones.

 I guess the bones make this work much more sombre. They're often... what's left over. After we've eaten an animal or what's left...