Diane Bielik : Halo Tango, 2022

Edition of 50 

About the book 

Self-Published (2022) 

First edition of 240

Hardback

16 x 22 cm 96 pages

Indigo printed and stitch bound in UK on GF Smith ‘Munken Polar Rough’ 150 gsm paper

Hand packaged in a simple paper bag

This is a fictional photographic narrative told from a single found object - a small, framed charcoal portrait of a woman ‘Mrs Eyles’ made by another woman Betty Steer in1962.

I found it in a Hackney charity shop and took it back to my small artist studio, where it began to resonate. Part still life, part landscape and part found imagery this series has evolved to form a cryptic story, set within a claustrophobic domestic stage.

In the book an accompanying text imagines the act of these two women coming together, one to draw the other to sit. And contemplates ideas of unity, solidarity, the sisterhood and everyday forms of feminist action or resistance.

Originally from West Yorkshire, I am a London based artist and photographer. I studied photography at Staffordshire University graduating in 1997. I then went into industry as a freelance photographer and illustrator. I slowly moved into teaching, gaining a teaching qual in 2002 and in 2009 I started an MA at LCC in London, graduating in 2010. I am a senior Lecturer at University of Hertfordshire.

I have made and shown work for many years in a number of venues, often achieved through a DIY approach, but not always. My first book Halo Tango was self-published in 2022 and has been selected for a number of national and international festivals.