Helen Wilson-Roe is the first Black woman in the UK to have sculpted a life-sized public statue of a Black woman – called Henrietta Lacks – after years of in-depth research and personal investment into social activism against racism, exploitation and genocide. Helen’s presentation at Reuben College’s second Dining with Dinosaurs of this term was a celebration of Henrietta’s legacy and her deep friendship with the Lacks family. It was also a powerful call to recognise the role of artists in bringing about change and the power of science-art collaborations to make a lasting impact.
Henrietta Lacks and her legacy
In the year of 1997, Bristol based Artist-Activist Helen Wilson Roe embarked on a quest to draw public attention to the legacy of Henrietta Lacks and highlight the injustices done to Henrietta and her family. Henrietta was a Black-American mother of five whose cells were taken without her consent whilst receiving treatment for cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital Baltimore in 1951, the same year she died of her illness. Her cells became the first ‘immortalised human cell line’, revolutionizing medical sciences. ‘Henrietta’s cells’, as Helen prefers to call what are widely known as ‘HeLa cells’, are found in science labs across the world and have been instrumental to developing lifesaving vaccinations, furthering cancer research and revolutionizing genetic testing amongst many other achievements. Henrietta’s cells have even made it into space, being used to study the effects of space travel on living cells and tissues.
Despite the role of Henrietta’s cells in medical sciences, the resulting benefit to humanity and the financial gains to the pharma industry, her family were left unknowing and struggling to access even the most basic healthcare for over 20 years following Henrietta’s death.
Helen Wilson-Roe’s artwork with the Lacks family
Helen is an artist who uses multiple forms of artistic expression, including film making, painting and sculpting, to shine a light on historical and social issues. In 2010, Helen embarked on a journey to the US to meet the Lacks family, work with scientists using Henrietta’s cells to understand their use in medical sciences and to retrace Henrietta’s life and final days at John Hopkins Hospital.
Her resulting project called “A Brush with Immortality” features a range of art pieces with Henrietta and her family at the centre. It includes a documentary of interviews with Henrietta’s children and grandchildren and Bristol University based cell-biologists. Helen’s aim is to create 28 oil paintings of Henrietta’s family members and one of Henrietta herself, which she will gift to them as a symbol of the family having control of their own legacy. Helen has painted 11 portraits so far and is looking for funding to complete the rest.
This artwork, together with more pieces such as six glass installation panels of Henrietta’s cells, have been exhibited nationally including the Science Museum London, the Arnolfini and Trinity Art Centre in Bristol. In 2021, Helen sculpted a life-sized bronze statue of Henrietta. Her statue is located at the Royal Fort Gardens University Bristol. Helen’s vision is to have people visit Henrietta and engage with her to find meaning in her legacy.
Sharing in Helen’s lessons as a black female artist
The evening with Helen at Reuben College was an opportunity to learn about Henrietta’s legacy from someone who has not only undertaken meticulous research but who is dedicated fully to fighting against racism, social injustice and inequality through art. Thereby Helen shared her experience of being a black female artist, having to grapple with very limited funding and her name being ‘erased’ as the creator of some of her groundbreaking work. As a gift to her audience this evening, Helen shared some of her lessons how she manages to keep on going with her work: 1: We need a new wave of artists, who carry on and don’t back down even in the face of injustice. 2: As an activist, do protect yourself and do whatever it needs for you to stay well. 3: We need stronger protection for artists, fair pay and a recognition of their work for societal change. There needs to be an international standard on acknowledgements of authorship for artists. Without this, racist and sexist commentators can get away with implementing their attitudes by air brushing artists out.
Helen’s work extends well beyond Henrietta Lacks, also looking at genocide in Rwanda amongst other issues. More about Helen’s work is available on her website.
