Occupying Space
Helen Heslop
Generator Gallery, Belconnen Arts Centre
Opening: 6pm Friday 16 October 2026
Exhibition: 16 October – 29 November 2026
Occupying Space consists of a series of quilt and collage works created from photographs I have taken of landscapes in the South Coast of NSW. I spent time on Yuin Country as part of ANU’s Sharing Stories community program in 2025/26.
Time spent on country, listening to stories from local elders and artists, was a gift: giving me time to understand more deeply indigenous thinking and culture, intergenerational trauma and steps to healing. It helped me start to unravel my own place in the Australian context: as an immigrant from a former colonial country in Africa and as a woman from a long line of ancestors engaged in colonialism. Our șite-based investigations — of the Bundian Way walking track, Severs Beach and the Davidson Whaling Station — shed light on the indigenous and colonial history, land use and, under the surface, the trauma inflicted by colonial enterprise.
Ideas of dispossession, perspective, exploitation and enduring colonial structures are explored using a reparative aesthetic, to enable us to walk gently together through these stories. Quilts, as a medium, symbolise safety, comfort and security. My artworks tap into the long history of radical textiles, where women’s art making has been deeply associated with social change, activism and truth-telling.
About the Artist
Helen Heslop is a Canberra-based contemporary artist whose works illuminate social issues, trauma and healing. She plays with pattern and repetition through a unique blend of sculpture, digital collage and textiles. Helen embraces these as symbolic elements in her works, reflecting the cyclical nature of societal issues and the potential for transformation and growth. Born in Zimbabwe and moving to Australia as a young child, Helen was affected by the cultural, social and environmental changes happening around her. She became increasingly aware of the trauma and injustices faced by people, particularly women and Indigenous Australians in her adopted country. She uses her art as a tool for exploring the intricacies of healing and resilience.