Helen Frost: Art from Found Materials

I am a mixed media artist from Chichester in West Sussex. I work largely with found and recycled materials using paper, fabric, rubber, metal, wood or whatever I might find on my daily walks around Chichester Harbour.  

I always take a camera to record my finds, finding absorption in recording objects in situ – digitally in the first instance.  These walks started as a form of mindfulness – they have become walks attempting to help cure our coastline.  The beauty and serenity of our local area is often spoiled by rubbish and debris and sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of this.  I want to cry for our broken planet.  My small contribution to righting the many wrongs is to collect at least one bag of litter each day – doing my little bit towards healing the local environment. I take home my bags and recycle the items that I can, place most into our domestic waste bin, and retain the items in which I see beauty to turn into art. I would encourage everyone to carry a bag with them when walking and take their turn at improving the area around where they live, making it a better place for us, our children and grandchildren to enjoy in the years ahead. 

My work is produced in response to the litter and marine debris that I find.   I do not collect pretty driftwood or beautiful stones but rather the dirty, the rough, the junked and the jettisoned – the stuff that most people just pass by.  It is these objects, once made and utilised by man and then discarded by him, that interest me.  A cuff from an old anorak, a boat engine fuel filter, a lobster pot spacer – these are my pieces of treasure – litter that I can repurpose to draw attention to the problem of marine debris.

I spend many hours scouring beaches and harbours – I seem to have an inbuilt “eye” for spotting these abandoned bits and bobs and, unlike most folk, I see their potential for use in art.  I carry at least two bags with me – one for collection of the plastics and other debris washed ashore – and the other for my “treasure”.  My work is all about texture, form and marks. I like to work with a variety of media, in 2D and 3D, using materials that I find: either directly or as inspiration.

Read the full interview with Helen Frost featured in the Spring Issue 2019

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