Imperfect Offerings is a celebration of diversity and that differences are in fact strengths, not weaknesses. Being the only child of parents who were survivors of the Holocaust has had a significant influence on Hélène Carroll’s life. The exhibition tells the story of her immediate family and yet these paintings come from a need to remember and honour the memory of all those who perished during the Holocaust.
There is a discordance in the work. The colours are luminous and vivid, whilst the subject matter is grim. The juxtaposition of the artist’s “here and now” in the Pacific is set next to a terrain that is blood-soaked and malignant; a place filled with wolves, dogs, forests, churches, darkness and brutal death. However, there is hope and, according to Leonard Cohen, a crack in everything and that is how the light gets in.
Opening: Friday, 9 April, 5:30pm with guest speaker Dame Robin White
Artist Talk: Saturday, 10 April, 11am
Listen to the podcast My Life in Art - Hélène Carroll on Arrow Fm