2025
Exhibition Residencies
Raised on the Southerly most inhabited island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland I have always been fascinated by the effect of geographies on individuals and communities. My work to date details theories of autobiography and theories of place and how the two combine. I articulate my ideas through various methods including collage, sculpture and print as well as often in text. I predominantly bring these elements together to make site-specific installations or bespoke exhibitions in strange places. I have an on-going fascination with the feral, equine and canine sentience and also with rural landscapes. In 2013 will be undertaking some playful adventures in art in order to explore these topics.
Helen Sharp is an artist living and working in Fermanagh, Northern Ireland currently studying for a degree in equine management . Helen grew up on the tiny Hebridean island of Vatersay in Scotland and left the islands to take up a place in Edinburgh College of Art where she gained a First Class honours in Sculpture and received the Andrew Grant Bequest Scholarship for Highest Academic Achievement. Helen went on to gain a Masters with Distinction in Time Based Art from Dartington College of Arts.
After some time teaching and also exhibiting internationally many times, Helen went on to be director of Catalyst Arts Gallery in Belfast and then to complete a PhD in Art from the University of Ulster. Alongside and equally as important to her academic career, Helen has continued her art practice and recently had two solo shows, `The Hero and Now’ (Catalyst Arts) and 'Love's Rebellious Joy' (Higher Bridges Gallery) exhibiting film, drawing, photography, print and installation. Helen was one of five shortlisted artists for the Cultural Olympiad in 2009 and also published a book in collaboration with artist Aisling O’ Beirn entitled ‘Or So We’ve Heard’.
Helen’s community art work has included sculpture collaborations with artist Duncan Ross, community gardens, environmental sculpture and a recently completed commission for Kerrygold Butter to design and install a bespoke artwork and garden in MileEnd, London. In 2012 Helen curated 'Humbly Through the Dust' for The British Council, an exhibition featuring Tracey Emin, Grayson Perry, Henry Moore and Mark Wallinger. She also recently curated a music event 'Dark At Its Full' for The Happy Days International Beckett Festival. Helen founded OutLands with Diane Henshaw, an artist led collective with its heart in the rural.
Past Residencies