It has been a great pleasure working with the Chef de Section Expositions at The Musee Olympic over the last two years. Finally the exhibition came down but here are a couple of installation shots.
‘WORKERS 工人 Gong Ren’ by Helen Couchman at ‘Stades’, The Musee Olympic, Lausanne. 2016-2017.
Photo credit: © The Musee Olympic
Talk, WORKERS 工人 Artist talk by Helen Couchman
Sunday, 9th April. 2 – 3pm
LOOK17, Liverpool International Photography Festival
Tate Liverpool
Albert Dock
Liverpool Waterfront
Liverpool L3 4BB
Above: Wang Zijun from the WORKERS 工人 series. Beijing, China. 2007.
The book WORKERS 工人 (gong ren) now stocked at Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool.
The artist is giving a talk about this WORKERS 工人 project and her work in China at Tate Liverpool on 09/04/2017.
Stades opens tonight at Le Musée Olympique, Lausanne, Switzerland. Featuring at its centre portraits from the WORKERS 工人 Gong Ren series. Until 07/05/17.
Open: 14/10/2016 – 07/05/2017.
www.olympic.org/museum
So far the feedback has been very positive,
‘…they give off an incredible force, we can read the fragility in certain looks and pride as they are posing for you. They recall the harsh conditions in which these men and women have working but without falling into any voyeurism or pessimism. Personally, I find them absolutely magnificent and I am very touched at looking at them.’
Chef de Section Expositions
Le Musée Olympique, Lausanne, Switzerland
Omani Women portraits will be exhibited in London. Opening event this Friday 16th – introductory talk by Helen Couchman, 7pm at Husk.
Omani Women on exhibit at Athens Photo Festival. The Photobook Exhibition at the Benaki Museum, the Hellenic Centre for Photography, Greece until 31/07/16. #APhF16
Thanks to Jasmine for making it to see ‘Omani Women’ at The Photobook Exhibition at The Benaki Museum, Athens
Exhibition hung. ‘Mrs. West’s Hats’ opens tomorrow until 30th June at The Allen Gallery, Alton, Hampshire, UK.
Press Release
Mrs West of Binsted was a resourceful lady. She was expected to accompany her husband to many important social events, including garden parties at Buckingham Palace. But cloth was rationed, so instead of a new outfit she wore a different hat for each occasion. Some she bought and others she made herself so that each time it looked as though she was wearing a new outfit.
After Mrs West’s death, her granddaughter Helen Couchman, who had by now qualified with a BA in Fine Art and an MA in Critical Fine Art Practice, collected together the hats – there were over 60 of them – and photographed herself in the style of the time wearing them and also her grandmother’s original make-up. She then turned the resulting photographs into an artwork which she named ‘Mrs West’s Hats’.
And now ‘Mrs West’s Hats’ is to be exhibited in Alton’s Allen Gallery in June. The exhibition is preceded on May 26th by an illustrated talk by Helen Couchman herself about her grandmother, her hats and what they reveal about life and fashion in the 1930s, 40s and 50s.
Helen says: ‘My grandmother was a most influential person in my childhood. In my eyes, she was creative, sharply intelligent and ceaselessly loyal towards me. She was most interested in the future – my future. When I tried on her hats I clearly remembered her. Each hat reminded me of a different aspect of my feelings towards her.’
Helen has exhibited ‘Mrs West’s Hats’ in galleries all over the world, but she is particularly pleased that her work is to be shown in Alton, so close to her grandmother’s old home. Indeed, Helen herself lived in Binsted for three years and attended Binsted Primary School, so the occasion will bring back even more memories to her. She commented: ‘It will be great to show my project in the area where my grandmother lived. It means a lot to me.’
The exhibition ‘Mrs West’s Hats’ runs at the Allen Gallery, 10-12 Church Street, Alton between Thursday 2nd and Thursday 30th June. The gallery is open Tuesday – Saturday from 10.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. and entry is free. The talk ‘Mrs West’s Hats, the life and times of my Binsted grandmother’ takes place at the Allen Gallery at 7.30 p.m. on Thursday 26th May. Tickets, obtainable at the gallery or on 01420 82802, cost £5 to include light refreshments. Both events also feature on the website of Hampshire Cultural Trust, www.hampshireculturaltrust.org.uk, while further information about Helen Couchman’s work can be found on www.helencouchman.com. ‘Mrs. West’s Hats’ and an essay about the work are published in a hardback book costing £12, ISBN 9780956017208, available in the Allen Gallery shop and online at www.SoloshowPublishing.com.
Artist shows true colours of Oman
Portraits aim to overturn misconceptions
A Highbury artist is attempting to shed light on a little-known corner of the world with her unique portraits of Omani Women. Helen Couchman said the idea came to her after travelling to Oman for work four years ago. “I wanted to understand more about what we mean when we refer to the Middle East,” she said. “Its just so general and vague.”
It was while she was on assignment in the desert that she was first inspired; ” I was at the edge of what is known as The Empty Quarter when I met three women who appeared over the dunes in the middle of nowhere. The women – including a mother and her three daughters – took a shine to her and invited her to their farm. “I was struck by how brightly and confidently dresses the four women were,” Ms Couchman told the Gazette. “I began thinking about my expectations of them being more conservatively dressed.”
When she returned to the UK she searched through archives of Omani Women but found only portraits that were anthropological or of eroticised Persian beauty. Inspired by her own experiences she returned to the country to start her own project. Of course convincing strangers to pose for photos wasn’t easy. “I realised it might be quite a difficult question for people to consider so I approached people in the street rather than at their homes which I don’t think would have been very polite,” Ms Couchman said. Most families had at least on member who spoke English or else would invite a friend over who could. “I would ask them three questions,” she said. “Would they like to be in the portrait? What would they like to wear? And how would they like to present themselves?”
The result is a series of image published in her new book Omani Women. She will be giving a talk and signing at Waterstones at Islington Green on 9th March at 6pm.
by Sophie Inge, 3 March 2016
Online, 8 March 2016:
