Today I acquired “The Red String”, a work of my mentor and friend, a beacon in my life, the late Helen Lieros. The work was created in 1991 and interrogates power games and aspects of hierarchies. It’s an extraordinary work, a demonstration of Helen’s compositional strengths, draughtsmanship, sense of colour and control of media. Not to mention her courage and strength of character, which is known only too well, by so many of us. I remember her stretching these works which were made on paper and glued to the canvas, in the ILSA studio, in moments of absolute volatility between her and her faithful assistant, Aeroplane.

I never imagined I would get to visit this work again, let alone own it – its date coincides with my early career as an artist and it made significant impact on me at that time. It will forever be one of my most treasured possessions.

Greg Shaw,

19 May, 2022.