Thérèse Cooper

Thérèse Cooper’s work explores the relationship between us as individual members of a society or group in a mass produced world and the desire to be different. Margaret Mead’s dictum, “ Always remember that you are all absolutely unique. Just like everyone else” is a source of constant wonder. Using a printed element with drawn features invites the viewer to recognise that we are indeed already individual and attempts to add a difference actually marks us out as members of a group. Cooper’s recent series of prints, People Wearing the Same Clothes, and Different Flowers in the Same Vase represent a lengthly fascination with this subject. Using dry point etching, screen printing and drawing Cooper displays the strength and fragility of hand made work in an increasingly standardised world and illustrates how small separate components make a large image. Born in 1946 Cooper graduated from Walthamstow School of Art in 1968 with a diploma in fine art and from University of Essex with a BA(hons) in English and American Literature in 1983. Since the 1980s, working under the name, Min Cooper, as a cartoonist, illustrator, animator, and gallery owner she made work for commission and sale. Her long list of clients have included The Guardian, the Independent The Observer and the Times as an editorial cartoonist. As an animated film maker, exhibited at international film festivals such as Bristol, Annecy and Berlin. Since 2009 she has exhibited widely in solo and mixed shows including the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and at the Mall Gallery. Her work is held in private collections in Europe and USA and a cartoon is held in the V&A