IG: @uglysheep.press helenacjefferson.com

it comes to me on the breeze : an archive of memory

Control is something that I have been seeking for a very long time. I have idealized what having control would be like and while being in this institution and looking back at everything I’ve made, I now understand that I have surrendered control almost entirely. What you are looking at when you look at my work, it is the culmination of something that lives deeply in my body and spirit. Surrendering control has allowed the Thing to speak. I have come to see my work as something that lives on its own. The Thing has used me to escape and to say I am anything less than grateful for it living in me would be absurd + the opposite of the truth. The land, the place I am depicting, this “thing” has nourished me. I have been protected by it and it has watched over me far longer than I am able to conceptualize. My work is my attempt. Being away from the Thing has made me its disciple. Seeing myself as “lamb” and my work, the “thing”, as my shepherd. I hope to share the solace I have gained through this labor + love. I am so grateful.

Bio

Helena Jefferson is a printmaker who was born and raised in rural Wisconsin which heavily influences the aesthetics and visuals of their practice.

Working with laborious processes, Jefferson aims to provide a space in which reflections on self are made. They focus on feelings such as tenderness, vulnerability, selfishness, abandonment, grief, and resentment and encourage others to investigate these emotions as well. They contrast these tough to handle emotions with softer images from home to provide a visual resting spot for the contemplation they are prompting.