Helen Chadwick (1953–1996) embraced the sensuous aspects of the natural world, breaking taboos of the ‘traditional’ or ‘beautiful’. Her sculpture, performance and photography is radical, provocative and often steeped in humour, and employs unusual, sometimes grotesque materials – bodily fluids, meat, flowers, chocolate and compost among them. She quickly became a leading figure amongst Britain’s post-war avant-garde, becoming one of the first women to be nominated for the Turner Prize.

A dedicated teacher, she mentored the majority of the Young British Artists and is now known as the ‘mother of the YBAs’. She was also involved in the artistic community at Beck Road, Hackney, whose residents included Maureen Paley, Richard Deacon and Genesis P-Orridge.

Although she was widely exhibited during her lifetime, attention to Chadwick’s work declined following her unexpected death in 1996, and it is only relatively recently that the significance of her work has been acknowledged afresh. Coinciding with a major touring retrospective, this publication spans the breadth of her practice, from her renowned MA degree show In the Kitchen (1977) through to her seminal Piss Flowers (1991–2). Merging art and life, with a focus on Chadwick’s interdisciplinary interests and engagement with education, music and politics, as well as an in-depth study of her art and ideas, the book is a fitting tribute to her vital impact on social and cultural history.