Helen Barff is a sculptor, living and working in London. She gradated from Goldsmiths college in 1999 as well as completed a drawing MA at Camberwell College of Art in 2004. She has exhibited in various locations in the UK and internationally. Her recent solo exhibitions include Many and many a day like this’ at The Stone Space, London, 2021 and ‘Memory of Clothes’ at Worthing Museum, funded by Arts Council England in 2019. Group exhibitions include ‘All the Names’ at Scrap Metal, Toronto; the Jerwood Drawing Prize; a touring museum exhibition in Mexico; ‘Liberties’ at The Exchange, Penzance; ‘Matter and Memory’ at Alison Jacques Gallery and ‘Open Cube’ at White Cube.
Both Untitled (OWS) and (GS) are from an ongoing series of casts of the artist's partners shirts. Her process involves stitching the clothing, and then filling it with the casting material, which as a liquid fills the internal space, finding all edges. She then peels off the fabric revealing the solid cast. This visual, tactile and visceral associations the work explores how clothing and materials hold memories of people, places and time.
Details: Plaster cast, 29 x 31 x 22 cm.
