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My mixed media art practice explores transformation, continuity, and renewal through texture, layering and embedding materials into the ancient medium of encaustic wax.  Elements act as conduits within a visceral narrative.  Natural elements are invested organically into each piece - refined beeswax and damar resin, pigment, acrylic,  oil, collage papers and handmade harakeke (native New Zealand flax) paper,  pressed flowers, feathers, leaves, leaf skeletons, ash, precious and non-precious metals, photo transfers are all ephemera that delights the senses. Encaustic wax preserves and reveals, its transparency and translucency,  accretion textures and glassy finish create surfaces that hold memory and invite contemplation. Working intuitively, I embrace uncertainty, allowing each painting to emerge through responsive action and curiosity rather than predetermined outcomes. My work predominantly investigates themes of sovereignty, freedom, belonging,  purpose, balancing vulnerability with resilience.  I seek to create works that encourage meaningful engagement, inviting viewers to delve into the layers and discover.

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​Keen’s artistic practice transitioned from ceramicist, to discovering the artisanal techniques of working with encaustic wax and the raw flame. Hands-on to the point of sculptural, hands become tools, used to feel and feed the multiple layers. Paintings are literally actioned into being. Wax brushed on in molten form, cooled, incised, and torched  (upwards of 50 layers),  melting each piece into existence. This difficult yet versatile medium, provided Helen with a foundation for experimentation and an exploratory abstraction where conversations occur between artist, and artists past and present. Alive each painting encompasses its own unique properties.  Once cured for up to 12 months paintings are burnished by hand distilling a soft luminosity and transparency, rich in blended textures and it is here where the layers are revealed.  Igniting the senses of visual, touch and even smell is a hallmark of this ancient and revered medium.