The Kate Helms Laboratory

The Colony series centers on fantasies of the contents of a luxuriously ornate home being dismantled by the climatic effects of sea level rise and tossed into the ocean, where they become artificial reefs for barnacle and sponge-like encrustations. In contrast to widespread coral bleaching, which causes vast swaths of coral reefs to rapidly perish into milky oblivion, these new species spontaneously evolve to thrive in the changing environment. Incorporating Victorian furniture, the work references an era in which humans substantially contributed to climate change by adding heat-trapping gases such as carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

Building on the Industrial Revolution, the Victorian Era was all about extravagance. About channeling industrialization to support lives of ornately embellished opulence, environment be damned. Victorians in London were choking on the soot and smoke from the very coal-fueled industries that supported their luxurious lifestyles. It was certainly not the first time that humans had lived so lavishly, nor the first time that the environment took a substantial hit for it, but it may perhaps be the most notorious.

The Colony series centers on fantasies of the contents of a luxuriously ornate home being dismantled by the climatic effects of sea level rise and tossed into the ocean, where they become artificial reefs for barnacle and sponge-like encrustations. In contrast to widespread coral bleaching, which causes vast swaths of coral reefs to rapidly perish into milky oblivion, these new species spontaneously evolve to thrive in the changing environment. Incorporating Victorian furniture, the work references an era in which humans substantially contributed to climate change by adding heat-trapping gases such as carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

Building on the Industrial Revolution, the Victorian Era was all about extravagance. About channeling industrialization to support lives of ornately embellished opulence, environment be damned. Victorians in London were choking on the soot and smoke from the very coal-fueled industries that supported their luxurious lifestyles. It was certainly not the first time that humans had lived so lavishly, nor the first time that the environment took a substantial hit for it, but it may perhaps be the most notorious.

The Colony series centers on fantasies of the contents of a luxuriously ornate home being dismantled by the climatic effects of sea level rise and tossed into the ocean, where they become artificial reefs for barnacle and sponge-like encrustations. In contrast to widespread coral bleaching, which causes vast swaths of coral reefs to rapidly perish into milky oblivion, these new species spontaneously evolve to thrive in the changing environment. Incorporating Victorian furniture, the work references an era in which humans substantially contributed to climate change by adding heat-trapping gases such as carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

Building on the Industrial Revolution, the Victorian Era was all about extravagance. About channeling industrialization to support lives of ornately embellished opulence, environment be damned. Victorians in London were choking on the soot and smoke from the very coal-fueled industries that supported their luxurious lifestyles. It was certainly not the first time that humans had lived so lavishly, nor the first time that the environment took a substantial hit for it, but it may perhaps be the most notorious.

The Colony series centers on fantasies of the contents of a luxuriously ornate home being dismantled by the climatic effects of sea level rise and tossed into the ocean, where they become artificial reefs for barnacle and sponge-like encrustations. In contrast to widespread coral bleaching, which causes vast swaths of coral reefs to rapidly perish into milky oblivion, these new species spontaneously evolve to thrive in the changing environment. Incorporating Victorian furniture, the work references an era in which humans substantially contributed to climate change by adding heat-trapping gases such as carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

Building on the Industrial Revolution, the Victorian Era was all about extravagance. About channeling industrialization to support lives of ornately embellished opulence, environment be damned. Victorians in London were choking on the soot and smoke from the very coal-fueled industries that supported their luxurious lifestyles. It was certainly not the first time that humans had lived so lavishly, nor the first time that the environment took a substantial hit for it, but it may perhaps be the most notorious.

The Colony series centers on fantasies of the contents of a luxuriously ornate home being dismantled by the climatic effects of sea level rise and tossed into the ocean, where they become artificial reefs for barnacle and sponge-like encrustations. In contrast to widespread coral bleaching, which causes vast swaths of coral reefs to rapidly perish into milky oblivion, these new species spontaneously evolve to thrive in the changing environment. Incorporating Victorian furniture, the work references an era in which humans substantially contributed to climate change by adding heat-trapping gases such as carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

Building on the Industrial Revolution, the Victorian Era was all about extravagance. About channeling industrialization to support lives of ornately embellished opulence, environment be damned. Victorians in London were choking on the soot and smoke from the very coal-fueled industries that supported their luxurious lifestyles. It was certainly not the first time that humans had lived so lavishly, nor the first time that the environment took a substantial hit for it, but it may perhaps be the most notorious.

Tidewater Elegy in Red and Blue features the private lair of an individual completely obsessed with sea level rise, who has collected bathymetric maps and painstakingly altered them to account for the rising waters of the future. Areas projected to be under water are blotted out with white paint, while depth measurements are obsessively crossed out and corrected based on NOAA predictions of future inundation.

Extasis

Year: 2013

Media: Digital Print

Dimensions: 52x192x36

Tamiami 1 East

24x 36 (each)

2013

Inflate

Digital Print of Performance

24x 36

2013

North Beach Trophy Shop

North Beach Trophy Shop. Cast silicone alligator skins, custom built installation trailer, fluorescent lights, neon, astro-turf, performers 

Dimensions: 240"x180"x102"

Year: 2014

Press Release From SELECT Miami:

BAUHELM ENTERPRISES

North Shore Park Installation

SELECT | ART FAIR | DEC 2 – 7

73rd and Collins Avenue

Miami Beach, FL 

SELECT is proud to debut a new installation from scientist/artist team Kate Helms and Michael J. Bauman. Under the handle Bauhelm Enterprises, Helms and Bauman will present a new installation entitled North Beach Trophy Shop. North Beach Trophy Shop is inspired by the wunderkammer, carnivalesque lighting, and notions of bionic paradise. Helms and Bauman’s, Trophy Shop will offer brilliantly colored, highly detailed silicone replicas of alligator hides out of a custom-fabricated 5’x10’ trailer, transforming an outdoor location into a hotspot for tropical revelry.

Decoy (One)

2014

Juice

Digital Print Triptych

24x 36 (each)

2013

Pompano Beach

Digital print of performance 

2013

FL2907EL

Vintage Boat, cast silicone alligator skins, wood, moving blankets, rope, t-8 florescent lights, plastic stake, extension cord

Dimensions: 108x150x120

Year: 2014

Punta Gorda

Digital Print

52x24

2014

Coppertone (perch)

Electroformed copper, ceramic parrots, wood, steel, auto-body paint

48x200x14

2013

Untitled (Pink)

Untitled (Orange)

Untitled (Yellow)

Palm, paint, powder-coated steel

40x42x50 (pink)

60x40x36 (orange)

72x60x20 (Yellow)

2013