Elena Helfrecht
Elena Helfrecht was born in Germany and is based in London. In 2014 she graduated in Art History and Book Science at Friedrich-Alexander-University in Erlangen and is enrolled in the Master’s Programme of Photography at the Royal College of Art from 2017 to 2019.
The camera allows her to expose internal discourses and to translate psychological processes into the visible realm, confronting the intangible and connecting the mental and physical world. Objects and skin function as sensory elements pointing to the impelling force embedded in flesh and bones, manifesting a dense emotional atmosphere through an affective symbolism. Her images are created from multiple layers of meaning, characterised by a visceral iconography. She is influenced by the folklore of her childhood in Bavaria and her passion for Art History and Psychology.
The Silent Dialogue
From 2014 to 2017 I have documented my body impulsively and in fragments while fighting against depression and emotionally unstable personality disorder. Switching between documentation and conceptually staged shots, the camera follows a process of healing from an intimate perspective and enables the viewer to inhabit a new perspective on femininity and self-experience related to mental illness.
The Silent Dialogue connects the physical representation of both body and illness with symbols and metaphors in order to communicate an unseen inner space. Through the lens the subject merges with the observer, giving an objective, yet individual access to an intrinsic perception. The images function as a dialogue between conscious and subconscious, between ego and illness, unlocking an intermediate and dynamic space in form of a visual poem.
all images © Elena Helfrecht
