Helen Chadwick was an installation artist and photographer active in the 1970s-1980s who pioneered new forms of feminist art. She experimented with photography, performance, and installation art to challenge conventional ideas about gender and the female nude. Some of her most famous works involved photocopying and combining images of her own body to reclaim representations of female sexuality from traditional passive depictions. Her 1986 installation "The Oval Court" featured photocopied images of her body arranged on the gallery floor.

1. HELEN CHADWICK
1953-1996

2. Helen Chadwick info for teachers.
14mins radio programme: Iwona Blazwick profiles installation artist and
photographer Helen Chadwick.

3. This installation is
called The Oval Court
and is from the 1986
exhibition called
Of Mutability which
was at the ICA gallery
in London.
What does Helen Chadwick’s work look like?

4. Helen Chadwick
In the 1970s, most of the famous artists were men, and only traditional painting,
sculpture and printmaking were considered ‘real art’. Helen Chadwick decided
that she would not try to compete with male artists, but would find new ways to
make art. This gave her freedom to experiment and to challenge conventional
ideas about what ‘art’ is.
Chadwick made art using:
PHOTOGRAPHY
PERFORMANCE
INSTALLATION
• Oppositions: seductive/repulsive male/female organic/man-made
What materials and techniques did Helen Chadwick use?
• Reclaiming the image of the female body from traditional depictions of the ‘passive’
female nude (see next slide)
What are the themes in Chadwick’s art?

5. Reclaiming the image of the female body from
traditional depictions of the ‘passive’ female nude
La Grande Odalisque by Ingres 1814
What are the differences between the
traditional representation of the female nude
and Helen Chadwick’s?
Helen Chadwick from ‘The Oval Court’ 1986
(she photocopied her own body)Techniques
Composition
Gender of the
artist and the
subject.
Looking at the first of Chadwick’s themes:

6. What to do
Work in groups of 3 or 4, combining old and new students.
Work on sheets of A1 cartridge paper and use blue, purple and white readymix
paint.
Make a group artwork by printing parts of your body onto sheets of paper. Use
whichever parts of your body you feel comfortable with – hands, arms, feet, shins.
Use a large paint brush to paint the part of your body you are printing with and
then press down firmly onto the paper. You can overlap the prints but make the
images clear and do not smudge or blur the prints.
Tape your group’s pieces of paper together.
Now print with fabric to link the different sheets of paper together so that the
composition looks good.
Ready mix paint (blue, purple and white), paint brushes, palettes, A1 cartridge
paper, masking tape, old fabric.
If you have time after tidying up, watch this video of graffiti body printing.

7. What to do next
• Photograph your group’s artwork (to
present in your sketchbook).
• All members of the group place some of
your belongings (your bag, contents of
your bag, your shoe...) onto the artwork.
• Photograph the artwork again. Which
angle does it look best from?

8. Oppositions: seductive/repulsive male/female
organic/man-made
• Tear out a section of the body print artwork
that you made in a group.
• You are going to photocopy either your face
or hand/s in combination with this section.
• Try to make your new artwork show one of
these oppositions:
Seductive/repulsive
Male/female
Organic/man-made
SAFETY WARNING – SEE NEXT PAGE
Helen Chadwick from ‘The Oval Court’ 1986
(she photocopied her own body)
SECOND TASK
Looking at the second of Chadwick’s themes

9. WARNING
Keep your eyes closed
Do not let any art materials touch the ‘bed’ of the photocopier
Clean up anything left behind on the glass

10. •Present all your work in your
sketchbook