From a studio at the foothills of the Waitākere Ranges, Helen Keen’s encaustic wax paintings resonate local frequencies inhabiting the fragmented light of a forested ecosystem. Kaleidoscopic wonderlands de-materialize, shape-shift, and patterns melt into surfaces, giving the optical effect of “a panorama containing multitudes.” This patterning and mark-making create painterly echoes of a bygone era, recognisable, yet brilliantly fashioned in individual compositions. Each painting is a landscape of folded light, where dream aesthetics fuse elemental forms, pigment and shadow. Keen’s artistic practice naturally transitioned from ceramicist, to exploring the artisanal techniques of working with encaustic wax and mixed media. Hands-on to the point of sculptural, hands become tools, used to feel and feed the multiple layers. Paintings are literally actioned; brushed, incised, and heated, while being melted into existence using naked flame. This difficult yet versatile medium, provided Helen with a foundation for experimentation and an exploratory abstraction where a conversation occurs between artist, heart, mind, past and present. Alive, each painting encompasses its own unique properties and often incorporates textural layers of mystery discoverable in closely exploring the depths of field. When tempered, finished paintings distil a soft luminosity rich in irresistible intrigue inherent in the blended textures and distinct aromatics of beeswax and dammar tree resin.