Helen Dugdale: Beyond the Bindings

‘Mummification is something I’ve always been interested in. I remember seeing a mummy in Birmingham Museum and being amazed that this person had actually been alive thousands of years ago and was now behind glass in front of me.’ Helen Dugdale’s Transcendence Collection draws on ancient Egyptian beliefs around preservation, death and the afterlife. Inspired by museum encounters with mummified bodies, her sculptural copper vessels resemble tightly bound forms, with strips that break free and unravel into the air. Blackened surfaces reference the fertile soil of the Nile, while flashes of gold evoke the divine. Hidden within some pieces, a tiny heart symbolises the thoughts, feelings and consciousness once believed to be preserved within the body, reflecting Helen’s exploration of how something bound and immobile might ultimately transcend its bindings and become free. Helen Dugdale is one of 13 jewellers and silversmiths to showcase her new collection as part of the Goldsmiths’ Centre’s Shine 2026 new talent showcase. Shine provides UK-based early career makers with a unique opportunity to participate in an intensive taught programme, upskilling participants to present a new collection of work as part of a physical exhibition at the Goldsmiths’ Centre (3-minutes from Farringdon, EC1M 5AD) and for purchase online. Visit our website: www.goldsmiths-shop-talent.org Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/gsmithscentre Contact us: shop@goldsmiths-centre.org