Helen Benigson

Helen Benigson creates moving-image and performance work concerned with the body and online identities. Her highly saturated video collages are filled with images of stereotypical femininity; lollipops, flowers and glitter. Along with the soundtracks she produces for her videos, the layering of these symbols reinforces the works’ chaotic nature, where fantasy and reality intertwine. The distinction between the self and others is also blurred through her use of online personas and her alter-ego, rapper Princess Belsize Dollar.

In the work Why U Shouldn’t Date a Soldier (2011) the artist creates an avatar and plays online poker, while a group of soldiers from the video game Call of Duty attempt to rescue her. Between the layered clips from porn sites and the chat rooms of internet gambling forums, we follow the female protagonist’s use of virtual worlds as a platform to play out narratives of pursuit and survival.