Helen de Main is a visual artist who uses her practice to investigate contemporary and historical depictions of women’s lives. She frequently collaborates with archives and collections, employing materials from these sources in her practice. Working across printmaking and sculpture, she often combines the two mediums, printing directly onto various surfaces, including paper, fabric, glass and acrylic. Additionally, she engages with community groups, employing discursive models to explore personal experience and reflect on social and political dynamics shaping women’s lives.
She recently completed a PhD at the Glasgow School of Art investigating feminist participatory printmaking. Her work has been shown widely in the UK and internationally. Recent exhibitions and projects include Repeat Patterns, Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, (2023); The Love of Print, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, (2022); Consciously Rising, Glasgow Women’s Library (2021); PROCESSIONS, 14-18 NOW, Artichoke (2018); Coming Out: Sexuality, Identity & Gender, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool (2017); and You Know, Things Like That, Platform, Glasgow (2017).