Helen Birnbaum’s sculptures reflect the precarious nature of humanity and the natural world.  After many years of making large scale installations on ecological themes, she now creates smaller works reflecting human experiences inspired by ancient myths and modern archetypes. The works are highlighted with dashes of red, blue and gold glaze to accentuate their delicate features. These delicate figures represent our modern digital obsessions, fears and ambitions.

In 2018 Birnbaum received the Victoria & Albert Museum & Morley Gallery Ceramics prize for a figurative work called Anticipation. In 2020 the Victoria Museum Liverpool purchased Coronavirus 2020, for their Permanent Collection followed by Liverpool University, in 2021, who purchased Antibacterial Animals for theirs.  Birnbaum’s work has featured in many exhibitions including the Venice Biennale, 2025; Cop26 in Glasgow in 2021 and later that year at the Glastonbury Festival.  In 2023 the National Grid used images of her work in a ground-breaking report about the impact of climate change. Other notable exhibitions include the Gordon Pathology Museum, Guy’s Hospital London; the ARB Gallery Cambridge; the World Museum, Liverpool and ARTBOX Basel, Switzerland. She has also exhibited twice in Athens and once in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Resident ceramic artist at Liverpool Hope University in 2014, and in 2023 commenced another residency with Blackpool School of Arts.  She exhibits regularly at festivals, exhibitions, and in social media.