For the past ten years Helen Joseph has been interested in depicting the female form, studying the effects of abuse, both externally inflicted and self-imposed, on the body and mind. In her recent series Joseph considers how anxiety deforms our perceptions, particularly of ourselves, resulting in a cycle of negativity. "We feel negative about ourselves and so we begin to see ourselves in a negative light," says Joseph. Her work explores the loss of innocence as we mature. We become so over-wrought with the stresses of life that our bodies actually change and become the external signifier of internal anxieties. To demonstrate this, Joseph juxtaposes an infant’s body next to that of an adult in the same pose. The child is totally at ease while the adult figure looks uncomfortable and stiff.

Joseph also uses threading in her work, actually sewing onto her painting to signify our growing obsession with surgically altering our bodies. Modern western society’s obsession with image is not only a cultural issue there are also psychological elements involved. Psychological stresses are often present ranging from attachment-related anxiety to issues with self-esteem to a neurotic desire to retain a youthful appearance. Joseph explores the aging processes, concentrating on the angst that we experience as we grow older, culminating in the perverse invisibility of old age.

Venue
Gallery Gerard Sekoto
Alliance Française of Johannesburg
17 Lower Park Drive corner Kerry Road
Parkview - opposite Zoo Lake

Gallery hours
Monday - Thursday : 9 am - 8 pm
Friday : 9 am - 6 pm
Saturday : 9 am - 1 pm

For more information
Contact Pauline
culture.jhb@alliance.org.za
011 646 1169

Enquiries : Isa Schwartz Gesseau 083 600 4030 or ibiart@icon.co.za