About
Helen’s work is the creative and eye-catching result of her life-changing shift from one of the art capitals of Europe to a remote Aboriginal community in the arid heart of Western Australia.
After three years painting, exhibiting, living, socialising and soaking up the atmosphere in lively cosmopolitan Edinburgh, Helen returned home in 2004 to a totally alternative existence at Ululla, an indigenous community 70km south-west of Wiluna.
As the only non-indigenous female amid this isolated group of people, Helen quickly felt inspired by the local women and their amazing artwork.
“They would often sit all day painting under the shade of a tree together, often for days at a time,” she recalls, “It was an incredible experience to be able to both learn from and teach these amazing women as we shared stories and exchanged ideas on and off the canvas.”
In the next few years Helen Miller became Helen Ansell as she met the love of her life around the time of the success of her first exhibition on home soil in five years, Memoirs of a Social Life at the Gadfly Gallery. She then moved to live in Geraldton where she continued to travel to Wiluna to teach art to the indigenous community there. The following year Helen moved to Wiluna where she was invited to manage the Tjukurba Indigenous art gallery.
Helen then moved back to Geraldton where she continued to teach art to indigenous artists in both Wiluna and Yalgoo – and travelled over 2000km every fortnight to do so!
Helen is currently employed by FORM as one of the mentors for the Spinifex Hill Artists in South Hedland, as well as teaching art at Greenough Regional Prison.
As for her own art, Helen recently won “best work by a non Indigenous Artist” at the prestigious Hedland Art Awards 2011 and is currently working towards a solo exhibition at the FORM Gallery in Perth for 2012. Many of her works are available on this site for sale as giclée prints.
Artist CV
Solo Exhibitions
- 2009 Lush, Courthouse Gallery, Port Hedland
- 2008 Flowers, Fish & Feathers, Finity Concept, Geraldton WA
- 2008 Helenansell.com launch, The Overflow, Northbridge WA
- 2006 Memoirs of a Social Life, Gadfly Gallery, Perth WA
- 2004 Giclee Limited Edition Prints, The Traverse, Edinburgh UK
- 2004 Joie de Vivre, The Tron Kirk, Edinburgh UK
- 2003 Searching Her Reflection, The Traverse, Edinburgh UK
- 2001 Inside Out, The Park Gallery, Perth WA
Group Exhibitions
- 2011 Mid West Art Prize, Geraldton Regional Art Gallery, WA
- 2010 Five Aspects, Monsoon Gallery, Broome, WA
- 2010 Pieces of Pattern, Courthouse Gallery, Port Hedland, WA
- 2008 Blessing of the Fleet, Geraldton Wharf, WA
- 2007 Gadfly Gallery, Dalkeith, Perth WA
- 2004 Studio 101 Launch, Leith, Edinburgh UK
- 2004 Old Bakehouse Gallery, Dalry Rd, Edinburgh UK
- 2003 Eternity, Edinburgh Community Church, UK
- 2003 Red Door Gallery, Victoria Street, Edinburgh UK
- 2002 Peter Mann Gallery, London Road, Edinburgh UK
- 2000 Mandorla Art Award, Moore Building, Fremantle WA
Prizes
- 2011 Best Work by a Non Indigenous Artist Hedland Art Awards, WA