RED WHITE and BLUE

Following her solo exhibition ‘BURNT OUT’ at Hartlepool Art Gallery in 2015, Helen Snell was commissioned to work with students from High Tunstall College of Science over the course of a year to produce a series of laser cut sculptural works. The resulting pieces were dramatically sited on board HMS Trincomalee (a Royal Navy Leda-class sailing frigate built in India shortly after the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the oldest floating warship in the world) , in Hartlepool Art Gallery and Museum, and at the National Museum of the Royal Navy, Hartlepool. The work was inspired by research into the rich maritime history of Hartlepool and the close study of historic artefacts from the museum collections. Helen’s work is concerned the production of digital multiples and imperfect editions as a way to explore to themes of industrial manufacturing and also the relationship between the group and the individual. For Helen, this approach has a particular resonance with naval themes and also Hartlepool’s proud ship building history. The work is a reflection on the many ways in which individuality can be relinquished, either through acts of courage and self-sacrifice or through the militarisation of personnel .