Helen Thomas

Helen Thomas creates drawings and paintings in response to plants and place. Helen’s current project focuses on often overlooked plants that grow in the cracks in concrete and at the edges of pavements in our everyday surroundings.

Dandelions and Double Yellows will culminate in a curated solo exhibition at Wakefield Cathedral in Summer 2021 as part of Wakefield Council’s Festival of the Earth.Helen Thomas creates drawings and paintings in response to plants and place.

Helen’s current project ‘Dandelions and Double Yellows’ looks at the often overlooked plants that grow in cracks in concrete, corners of car parks and at the edges of pavements.

Helen makes sketches of these ‘spontaneous plants’ working from direct observation, in Wakefield. Throughout the project she will be developing these ideas to make new series of artworks.

The project considers our relationship with plants that are often dismissed as ‘weeds’ and offers an invitation to notice and reconsider these plants. How do they contribute to greening our streets and play a part in the biodiversity in our villages and towns. Can a sense of connection with our immediate environment help us consider wider Environmental issues?

The pieces will be displayed in a solo exhibition at Wakefield Cathedral in Summer 2021 which will be part of Wakefield Council’s Festival of the Earth.

As part of the project Helen will also be inviting people to submit their pictures of pavement plants to be exhibited in an online exhibition.

Dandelions and Double Yellows is supported by:

Arts Council England
Wakefield Council
with in kind support from The Art House