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Untitled

Photocopy Collage
c.1986 (made)
Artist/Maker
Helen Chadwick (Photographer)

Photocopy collage by Helen Chadwick, 'Untitled (figure [Helen Chadwick] with flowers)', study for 'Of Mutability', 1986

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read Cameraless photography Cameraless techniques have been exploited and reinterpreted by successive generations of image makers and continue to be used by contemporary artists today. While related to the conventional practices of photography, cameraless images offer an alternative, experimental, radical and often r...

Object details

Category
Installation Art
Object type
Photocopy collage
Titles
  • Untitled (generic title)
  • Figure (Helen Chadwick) with flowers (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Blue-toned electrostatic prints (photocopies)
Paper
Photocopied
Brief description
Photocopy collage by Helen Chadwick, 'Untitled (figure [Helen Chadwick] with flowers)', study for 'Of Mutability', 1986
Dimensions
  • Height: 1470mm
  • Width: 907mm
Style
Art Photography
Gallery label
Cameraless Photography

Helen Chadwick (1953–96)
Study for Of Mutability
1986
Photocopy collage
147 x 90.7 cm
Museum no. E.648-2016

Chadwick’s use of photocopy collage reached its height with her large installation, Of Mutability. Placing her own body and other objects on the copier, she created an ethereal world of figures appearing to float in a pool. The piece shown here is a test, with motifs of the body with flowers and fabric not seen in the final installation.
Gallery 100, 'The Body', 2016:

This image is a test print for a much larger installation, which in part consists of an imaginary pool filled with swimming bodies, and attributes such as birds, fishes and animals. Helen Chadwick was known for challenging conceptions of the female body; here the photocopies of her nude body emphasise detail, resulting in an intricate, intimate expression of the figure. She called the images ‘echoes off the body’, and said, ‘I want to catch the physical sensations passing across the body – sensations of gasping, yearning, breathing, fullness.’
Credit line
Given by David Notarius
Object history
Trial print for 'The Oval Court', 1986
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.648-2016

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Record createdJanuary 28, 2016
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1329699/untitled-photocopy-collage-helen-chadwick/
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