Exhibition: Special Collections and Archives

Assemblage(s) 

Helen’s works, both as a whole and in their singularities, are seen here as assemblages — dynamic constellations of matter, image, and concept. These assemblages open up multiple readings and lines of connection, allowing us to trace the folds of her thought both horizontally (across themes) and vertically (through intensities). 

The archives and books displayed in this exhibition are mainly related to Helen’s artworks Ego Geometria Sum, Of Mutability, Meat Abstract, and Piss Flowers.

( Partial pages from pamphlet Piss Flowers, WAL/1/1/3/CHAD_He in SCA)

Transversality

This section reveals a dynamic interplay of deterritorialization and reterritorialization, as Helen’s thought-body continually enters new assemblages. The living forces within this thought have moved transversally across disciplines — art, literature, photography, architecture, and beyond. These lines of influence resist fixed paths. They move, mutate, and multiply.

(Left 1) Dissertation – Available for reference in the Special Collections & Archive Reading Room.

(Left 2) Anya Gallaccio —Anya Gallaccio is a British artist. She has credited Helen Chadwick’s daring use of unconventional, bodily materials as a direct influence, inspiring her to make visible the mutability of life in her own work.

(Left 3 bottom) ABC – Damien Hirst was a student of Helen Chadwick when she worked as a visiting lecturer at Goldsmiths. Related books on Damien Hirst can be found in the Goldsmiths Library.

(Left 3 top) Judgement of Pans – Slide by Flick Allen  

‘My generation (b.1950s) had been brought up with Picasso as all-dominant; when I’d been struggling to find a form of feminist articulation that suited me, I saw Helen Chadwick’s Ego Geometria Sum and felt she’d found hers. I was exhilarated by it - at last something I could visually, sensually and intellectually identify with, although I knew the form her work took was quite different from mine. I wanted to see what would happen if we all changed roles. I asked Helen if I could use her image, and she gave, rather than lent, me the negative. This work was the result. ‘

— Flick Allen

(Left 4 )Forms of enchantment: writings on art & artists — Marina Warner is a celebrated English writer, mythographer, art critic, and historian. She wrote a pivotal catalogue essay on Helen Chadwick’s installation The Oval Court.

The items displayed in the exhibition are collected/recreated from Goldsmiths library collections, including Special Collections& Archives and main library collection. Below is the full list of materials displayed:

Books:

ABC / Damien Hirst., 709.2 Hi (School Practice section)

Anya Gallaccio, Q 709.2 Ga

Architecture, space, painting, 701 ARC

Body art / performing the subject, 709.04074 JON

Cathy de Monchaux , Q 709.04 De 

De light, 709.2 Ch

Elective affinities, 709.049 TAC

Effluvia, 709.2 Ch

Figures,709.4109048 FIG

Forms of enchantment : writings on art & artists / Marina Warner. 709 WAR 

Gender trouble : feminism and the subversion of identity / Judith Butler  305.42 BUT

Gavin Turk, Q 709.2 Tu.

Georges Bataille / Michael Richardson. 701 BAT 

Helen Chadwick : wreaths to pleasure, 709.2 Ch

Helen Chadwick, Constructing Identities Between Art and Architecture, WAL 709.2 CHA

Jana Sterbak : states of being = corps à corps, 709.2 St

Judy Chicago : and Louise Bourgeois, Hel,  Q709.2 Ch 

Of Mutability, WAL 709.2 CHA

Powers of horror : an essay on abjection, 843.99 Ce/KRI

Requiem = Rekviiem, 709.2 Hi

Secret Victorians : contemporary artists, 709.049 SEC

Something the matter : Helen Chadwick, 709.4109049 SOM

Stilled lives : Helen Chadwick, 709.04 Ch

The sacred and the feminine : imagination and sexual difference, 704.042 SAC

The sexuality of Christ in Renaissance art and in modern oblivion, 704.9485 STE

The sleepwalkers : a history of man's changing vision of the Universe,  520.9 KOE 

The Turner prize 1987, The Turner prize 1987

The world of Frida Kahlo, KAH in Women's Art Library

Undercover surrealism : Georges Bataille and Documents, Q709.051 ADE in mail collection

What can a woman do with a camera? : photography for women, 779.082 WHA in main collection

Archives:

'A life in the day of Helen Chadwick' Interview Press-cutting, WAL/2/1/CHAD in SCA

Enfleshings, Postcard, WAL/2/1/CHAD in SCA

Helen Chadwick Interview Transcript, WAL/2/1/CHAD in SCA

Helen Chadwick file box, WAL/2/1/CHAD

Helen Chadwick slides, WAL 1/1/3/CHAD_HE

In Heaven: Helen Chadwick and her Unnatural Selection ( dissertation by Terri Chilton), WAL/8/CHIL

Judgement of pans DETAIL, slide,  Flick Allen Slide Archive Deposited 2021 9/19

'My Personal Museum' Exhibition Guide,  WAL/2/1/CHAD in Goldsmiths Special Collections & Archive (SCA)

Piss Flower pamphlet, WAL/2/1/CHAD in SCA

WOMEN’S ART, NO. 52, 1993. Reference: women’s art magazine collection.

'Work of the body as a body of work' Interview? Press-cutting, WAL/2/1/CHAD in SCA

Audio-visuals:

'A tribute to Helen Chadwick' Video Cassette, WAL/7/2/122 in SCA

Audio arts magazine. Vol. 5 no. 1, Audio arts. Vol. 5 no. 1 in Audio-visual section

Hello boys, Video12470 in Audio-visual section

'Meat Abstract' Video Cassette, WAL/7/2/48

On 18 September, we held a closing event in the afternoon in SCA, which included a curatorial tour and a roundtable session. During the tour, I briefly introduced the background and process of this exhibition. Most of what I shared in my talk can be found below:

I never thought I would curate an exhibition like this, but it naturally came into being and kept growing.

I was inspired by different people and theories at different stages. I’d like to thank Althea Greenan, Hannah Stageman, and Miriam Rafael Sampaio for their guidance and inspiration.

Overall, the curation process involved defining the exhibition’s positioning, curating the theme, planning the structural framework, and executing the creative installation.
At the positioning stage, I wanted to curate an exhibition about the library—something that could reflect the character of Goldsmiths and also highlight the features of the library itself.
At the theme-planning stage, I was reading books related to the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze and was drawn to two of his key concepts: Becoming and Body.
I felt that the library itself is a body in constant becoming, and the collections it holds, along with the ideas behind them, are also continuously forming and evolving. I wanted to express this sense of becoming.

Later, while working in the SCA reading room, I noticed a trolley filled with books with bookmarks in them. I was curious. Then, Miriam, who was working there, told me these books were about the artist Helen Chadwick—books she had read and books that documented Helen’s works.
Then Miriam randomly opened one of the books, which showed Helen’s work Piss Flower. She explained that Helen created it using urine. Miriam also shared stories and reflections related to these books.
In that moment, I felt a strong sense of vitality—the works and writings of a deceased artist being studied and narrated by another artist. I could sense a body of thought and its affect: about gender, about art, about identity, and much more.

That body of thought didn’t belong to Helen, nor to the authors she read, nor to Miriam or me. It keeps forming, flowing, and influencing.
Afterward, I did some research and realized Helen had even been a visiting lecturer at Goldsmiths, and that the library already held many books and archives related to her. So I decided to focus the exhibition on her, hoping that through unfolding Helen, I could express the initial concept and feeling of becoming.

I hadn’t known Helen well before, so during preparation I researched her while also cataloguing the archives and related books in our collection—selecting which materials to exhibit, finding connections between them, and building the exhibition framework. This was a back-and-forth process.

The exhibition is spread across two spaces with five sections in a flexible framework: Collage Wall, Rhizome, Assemblages, Transversality, and Research Ongoing. Before and during installation, I tested different display formats to optimize the layout and ensure the best visitor experience.

Let's begin with the collage wall. The displayed visual materials are drawn from a mix of archives, books, and digital photographs, arranged without a central focus or linear system. The collage wall was conceived from three dimensions: conceptual, promotional, and practical.

• Conceptually, it presents the entire exhibition’s theme, echoing the key words “unfolding” and “body of thought.” That’s why it has an irregular shape and wide spread, full of vitality.

• From a promotional perspective, the collage is large enough to catch the eyes of passersby and make them stop. I selected striking images and highlighted quotes to spark curiosity. I also wanted visitors to sense the diversity of our collections—not only in form but in content.

• Practically, the wall provides essential information such as Helen’s biography, major works, lifestyle and influence, and her reading imprints.

This wall is relatively independent yet complementary to the other sections displayed in the corridor. Since the archives must be protected in cases and cannot be handled directly, this wall became the best place for accessible reading.
That’s why text-heavy materials are placed mostly at eye level. I also tried to balance images and text—too much text would weigh down the exhibition and feel like heavy reading.

The final display format emerged through continuous experimentation. Limited by the materials, tools, and techniques available, I had to improvise and adjust. There were both surprises and compromises along the way. For example, in choosing paper: I used stock already available in the library. It was thick enough to cover marks left by Blu Tack, and its light-white tone looked softer under the lighting, giving an archival feel.
The paper sheets needed to be connected in a row, but since our guillotine couldn’t cut straight lines properly, I fixed only the top edge and left the bottom edges free. This let the paper curl naturally, casting shadows that concealed imperfections. Dots were added to indicate the reference numbers of each item.

In the corridor, I placed a video player together with the trolley in one corner to create a comfortable spot. They have the affordance that invite visitors to pause, flip through, and interact more intimately with the exhibits.
The videocassette player is striking and unusual—I hope people passing by notice it and become curious. If someone sits there to watch, they also become part of the exhibition, visible to others. Although using the player is complicated and digitized looping videos would be simpler, I felt it important for students to encounter the original equipment—to know that we can provide not only archives but also devices that enrich research. So I kept the player, while minimizing the difficulty of using it.

The trolley, researched and organized by Miriam, holds books donated by Helen’s husband. I wanted visitors to directly feel the density and continuity of thought—it is still alive.

Two display cases unfold parts of Helen’s works. Each layer is an assemblage, and the entire case can also be seen as one. When archives become assemblages, they develop their own bodies and should be treated with care. I hoped visitors would come closer, move around, and engage with them visually.
The top level presents a broad selection, showing both the range of Helen’s works and the variety of our holdings.
The three lower levels each focus on a representative work, accompanied by archival materials showing how her artistic themes shifted over time. From top to bottom, they relate to Ego Geometria Sum, Of Mutability, and Meat Abstract.
In each level, I also placed one less-conspicuous book—because the ideas in those books inspired the works. I wanted them to be seen alongside the artworks.

Another display case shows the process and outcome of Piss Flower. It is largely self-explanatory. Through these fragments, we can piece together Helen’s artistic trajectory.

A further case explores the rhizomatic architecture of Helen’s mental and material life: her influences, lifestyle, reading imprints, admired artists, encountered philosophy, and studied photographers. These influences have no hierarchy; they function like the rhizome of a plant. I selected representatives from different dimensions to display.

The final case presents people who were influenced by Helen. The degree and form of influence vary: some were her students, like Damien; some are writers and scholars; others are students who took her as a research subject. Helen’s ideas flow transversally, producing effects that cross and exceed disciplines. The caption was provided by Flick just before the exhibition opening.

All of these are parts of the body of thought. I unfolded them in this space, exposing them widely to visitors, then extended them into the whole library—letting them continue growing and evolving.