Helen Benigson Interview Reblogged from Kolekto Magazine
Helen Carmel Benigson is a star of the screen. From the Internet
to the mobile technology we carry in our pockets, she explores the way
in which our minds and bodies are intertwined with cyberspace. Working
with an array of media including video, printmaking and performance,
Helen's colour-drenched imagery and stuttering sound play out to become
hard-hitting yet dreamlike spectacles.
In her video piece Why U Shouldn't Date A Soldier (2011) we see the artist create an avatar and play in online poker room PKR, while a group of soldiers straight from Call of Duty attempt to rescue her. One of her most recent pieces Chanel Pink Beach (2013) sees model Tallulah Harlech showcase Chanel's Spring 2013 collection— layered with footage of a women's beach in Tel Aviv. Another of Helen's videos ,The Future Queen of the Screen (2011), is showing at Sheffield Fringe Festival this month, and we're in no doubt that the title of the piece describes the Londoner to a T (with a little help from her alter-ego, rapper Princess Belsize Dollar).
We talk cyberspace, social media and sushi.
With social media and Second Life, we now all have online digital personas. Does your alter-ego Princess Belsize Dollar stem from this concept?
Yes- I am obsessed with the idea of an online profile and how this is the new way of describing identity. A profile is a much smarter way to begin to think about revealing and concealing, expanding and collapsing. Princess Belsize Dollar is a complete construction through the digital.
You performed as Princess Belsize Dollar at Frieze Art Fair alongside artist group LuckyPDF, and designed chairs for Adidas Headquarters in London. Is it important for you to collaborate?
I think of collaboration as an everyday gesture, a performance, when occupying any space (whether political, digital or a 'real' space). Collaboration for me is the performance between two spaces or two people and the gaps between these where exchange occurs.
Do you find your own self a constant source of inspiration?
No- however I am interested in my body within different types of spaces and situations.
Courtesy and Copyright Helen Carmel Benigson 2013
How would you describe the portrayal of women in your work?
My work is constructed around the idea of a multi-woman- one woman in multiple spaces, states and presentations: a cyber woman, a rapper, a dancer, a tweeter, a girl cheating on her boyfriend, mothers, grandmothers, daughters, sisters, collectors, activists, archivists, sushi addicts— all versions of myself, but not quite.
As a rapper, who inspires you the most, musically?
Eminem, the Fugees, M.I.A.
Media and the distribution of it are now free from physical limitations. How much has this had an effect on your work and the way you conduct yourself as an artist?
I think the distribution of images has become a much more interesting way of thinking about social and political structures and hierarchies. At the moment I am interested in online pinboards such as Pinterest and thinking about them as archives.
Is all technology good technology?
No, I think there is always the potential for corruption and addiction.
You're currently leading a six week course exploring current exhibitions showing in London. How important is it to go and see artwork in the flesh as opposed to online?
I think it is really important to see work made to be seen in 'real life' how it was intended to be shown, and therefore to make the effort to visit galleries. I also really enjoy going to see exhibitions. The exhibitions on the course I'm leading have been fascinating— the course explores performance within the archive.
Multiple layers of visual material feature a lot in your work; can you tell us more about the significance of this?
I am interested in layering and the patterning and conceptual effects of this like the build-up of pixels in a video, or cells in the body— how putting multiple things together begins to build a bigger narrative, and this is really exciting.
What are the benefits of being an interdisciplinary artist?
I think it is a stimulating way to produce material, in that there is never just 'one' way to tell a story, but multiple, colliding ways!
Courtesy and Copyright Helen Carmel Benigson 2013
Do you have any favourite films, and has a film ever inspired your own video work?
My favourite film is Father of the Bride. I think TV inspires me more than film— I love the programs One Born Every Minute and Made in Chelsea.
You collaborated with Adidas, but are more forays into the realm of fashion something you've thought about? Does the thought of designing clothes ever tempt you?
I would love to design clothes, it literally would be amazing to get up in the morning and not have to worry about not having something to wear.
Courtesy and Copyright Helen Carmel Benigson 2013
You can check out Helen's work at http://www.helenbenigson.com
Written By Emily Mulenga
Photos are Courtesy and Copyright Helen Carmel Benigson 2013.
June 17, 2013.
In her video piece Why U Shouldn't Date A Soldier (2011) we see the artist create an avatar and play in online poker room PKR, while a group of soldiers straight from Call of Duty attempt to rescue her. One of her most recent pieces Chanel Pink Beach (2013) sees model Tallulah Harlech showcase Chanel's Spring 2013 collection— layered with footage of a women's beach in Tel Aviv. Another of Helen's videos ,The Future Queen of the Screen (2011), is showing at Sheffield Fringe Festival this month, and we're in no doubt that the title of the piece describes the Londoner to a T (with a little help from her alter-ego, rapper Princess Belsize Dollar).
We talk cyberspace, social media and sushi.
With social media and Second Life, we now all have online digital personas. Does your alter-ego Princess Belsize Dollar stem from this concept?
Yes- I am obsessed with the idea of an online profile and how this is the new way of describing identity. A profile is a much smarter way to begin to think about revealing and concealing, expanding and collapsing. Princess Belsize Dollar is a complete construction through the digital.
You performed as Princess Belsize Dollar at Frieze Art Fair alongside artist group LuckyPDF, and designed chairs for Adidas Headquarters in London. Is it important for you to collaborate?
I think of collaboration as an everyday gesture, a performance, when occupying any space (whether political, digital or a 'real' space). Collaboration for me is the performance between two spaces or two people and the gaps between these where exchange occurs.
Do you find your own self a constant source of inspiration?
No- however I am interested in my body within different types of spaces and situations.
How would you describe the portrayal of women in your work?
My work is constructed around the idea of a multi-woman- one woman in multiple spaces, states and presentations: a cyber woman, a rapper, a dancer, a tweeter, a girl cheating on her boyfriend, mothers, grandmothers, daughters, sisters, collectors, activists, archivists, sushi addicts— all versions of myself, but not quite.
As a rapper, who inspires you the most, musically?
Eminem, the Fugees, M.I.A.
Media and the distribution of it are now free from physical limitations. How much has this had an effect on your work and the way you conduct yourself as an artist?
I think the distribution of images has become a much more interesting way of thinking about social and political structures and hierarchies. At the moment I am interested in online pinboards such as Pinterest and thinking about them as archives.
Is all technology good technology?
No, I think there is always the potential for corruption and addiction.
You're currently leading a six week course exploring current exhibitions showing in London. How important is it to go and see artwork in the flesh as opposed to online?
I think it is really important to see work made to be seen in 'real life' how it was intended to be shown, and therefore to make the effort to visit galleries. I also really enjoy going to see exhibitions. The exhibitions on the course I'm leading have been fascinating— the course explores performance within the archive.
Multiple layers of visual material feature a lot in your work; can you tell us more about the significance of this?
I am interested in layering and the patterning and conceptual effects of this like the build-up of pixels in a video, or cells in the body— how putting multiple things together begins to build a bigger narrative, and this is really exciting.
What are the benefits of being an interdisciplinary artist?
I think it is a stimulating way to produce material, in that there is never just 'one' way to tell a story, but multiple, colliding ways!
Do you have any favourite films, and has a film ever inspired your own video work?
My favourite film is Father of the Bride. I think TV inspires me more than film— I love the programs One Born Every Minute and Made in Chelsea.
You collaborated with Adidas, but are more forays into the realm of fashion something you've thought about? Does the thought of designing clothes ever tempt you?
I would love to design clothes, it literally would be amazing to get up in the morning and not have to worry about not having something to wear.
You can check out Helen's work at http://www.helenbenigson.com
Written By Emily Mulenga
Photos are Courtesy and Copyright Helen Carmel Benigson 2013.
June 17, 2013.
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