statement
Helen Birnbaum is a sculptor who questions contemporary society’s relationship with climate change. The sculptures are in part made of the rubbish we discard and become symbols of the way we treat our precious environments. Birnbaum creates large scale installations, exploring a range of different materials, whilst engaging viewers in a conversation about the ecological crisis that faces the world. But she also creates smaller, more reflective works on other socially motivated themes.
Birnbaum’s work has featured in many exhibitions including the Venice Biennale ‘Art for the Planet’ in 2025 where Shed Salty Tears was exhibited. TERRA FIRMA Leaky Boat was exhibited at Cop26 climate change summit in Glasgow in 2021, and later that year at the Glastonbury Festival Arts Science tent. In 2023 the National Grid used images of TERRA FIRMA in a ground-breaking report about the impact of climate change.
In 2018 Birnbaum received the Victoria & Albert Museum & Morley Gallery Ceramics prize. In 2020 the Victoria Museum Liverpool purchased Coronavirus 2020, for their Permanent Collection followed by Liverpool University which purchased Antibacterial Animals for their collection in 2021.
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 exhibited twice in Athens and once in Sao Paulo Brazil at the Natura exhibition. Resident ceramic artist at Liverpool Hope University in 2014, and in 2023 with Blackpool School of Arts. Birnbaum continues to produce thought provoking ceramics exhibiting them in the UK and Europe.