Media release – June 16, 2008
Mum with heart issues and identical twins staging major art exhibition
A Clark’s Beach mum who has had heart problems and now has four children including identical twins is staging a major
art exhibition at Tuakau later this year.
Helen Parsons is one of New Zealand’s emerging and talented artists with a sought after distinctive style.
Parsons was born with a congenital cardiac defect with two holes in her heart.
As a child, she was very skinny and ran out of energy quite quickly.
The holes were repaired by open heart surgery when she was nine years old and had a pacemaker inserted when she was 35.
Her talent was apparent at an early age and at the age of 11 she won second prize in a National Poster Competition for
under 19 year olds. She won a trip to Rotorua.
The event was judged by famous artist Rei Hamon who told her parents that he wanted to award Parsons first place, but
that she was too young as the prize was an overseas trip. Parsons earned a degree majoring in zoology and maths.
She is preparing for her exhibition at the BlueOrange Gallery in Tuakau in November.
Her love of painting is strong and she has won numerous art prizes including the best painting and most successful
artist at the Easter Show Art Awards in 2005.
In her paintings, she likes to make a comment about issues like some of the decisions made by local bodies and the
effects they have long term to our way of life such as her work titled, ‘District Plan’.
``My November exhibition will poke at consumerism which is having disastrous flow-on effects in New Zealand, causing
problems both socially and physically in many areas of society.
‘’Problems of obesity, health, morals, addiction, population increase, empathy and apathy are alluded to. ‘’
Ends