Helen O’Connor is a Yukon visual artist who makes paper by hand to create sculpture, artist books, and installations. Her works reflect a reverence for nature and are influenced by personal mythmaking, exploring ideas of materiality, place, and ecology. For O’Connor, the transformation from plant to paper to work of art is magic!
O’Connor was first introduced to hand papermaking in combination with printmaking while completing a fine arts degree at the University of Western. Compelled to learn more about its history and cultural perspective she has travelled to study traditional methods of papermaking in China, Japan, Italy and India.
In 2020, O’Connor completed a Master of Education in Visual Art at the University of Victoria. Her graduate research explored the use of invasive plant species in both Whitehorse and Victoria as a material for art, examining their ecological impact and cultural meaning, as well as their medicinal and botanical properties.
As Kluane National Park, Artist in Residence, Helen O’Connor will research papermaking and artmaking using the invasive plant species white sweet clover. By transforming this widespreading plant into handmade paper, her work will explore relationships between landscape, ecology, and material process.
During her residency she will offer public workshops in papermaking and paper crafts, including simple journal and bookmaking, inviting visitors and community members to explore creative connections between plants, place, and art.
O’Connor was a selected by a national jury for the Yukon Prize 2025 Long List. She exhibits her handmade paper artwork locally and internationally. Her studio, Stovepipe Paper, is located in Whitehorse.
Helen is offering an artist talk and two workshops as part of her residency.
