Helena Murray
she/her
Minding My Own Materials
Helena Murray is a mature student due to complete her MFA in Painting in June 2026.
Her practice revolves around the exploration of abandoned spaces and materials discovered therein. Urban relinquished and provisional spaces such as The Field at NCAD, reveal elements of change and metamorphosis, unfolding and shape-shifting across the surface of her work. These meanwhile spaces yearn to be recovered, standing as sentinels over their own hidden histories. Maps and Found Materials offer an alternative lens through which temporal and spatial connections emerge rhizomatically.
Helena prepares handmade layered surfaces to create mixed-media images that can be scraped back to uncover the fragility of overlooked materials. Cross-pollination between the layers occurs, resulting in a state of flux. The interstitial space between the layers produces an archaeological site where remnants, or echoes, of former function, physicality, and life cycle of the materials are contained for the viewer to decipher and recover.
Mixed-media on prepared layered handmade surface.
Mixed-media and wire mesh, plaster bandage piece on old rusty found frame.
Acrylic paint, Conte, oil stick on handmade layered prepared paper.
Close-up of Acrylic, Conte, oil stick on prepared surface.
Acrylic, oil paint, emulsion on canvas stained with rusty found materials.
Acrylic, oil paint, emulsion on canvas stained with rusty found materials.
Diptych on canvas reflecting found materials researched in The Field, NCAD, 80 x 110 cm.
Close-up of wire mesh/ plaster bandage stained with acrylic high flow paints on hanging piece.
Wire mesh, plaster bandage on found wire fencing frame.
Corroded metal light fixture covers reclaimed from The Field, NCAD.
Research
Aerial view of The Field, Thomas St, NCAD, stretching down to Oliver Bond St.
Preparation of wire mesh and plaster bandage assemblage in studio.
Preparation of layered handmade surfaces in studio.
Testing different paint effects on canvas with acrylic, oil, emulsion and spray paints.
Testing different paint effects and layering of paint on canvas.