Humans of the Earth Gallery
Humans of the Earth Gallery
Astonishment seems to be the average reaction to UK based artist Peter Barnard’s poignant yet controversial work.
Peter Barnard’s output as an artist is often based on contrasting ideas and different mediums. His work proceeds from associations and encounters, sometimes emerging from the element of chance. Using a multiform approach, Barnard's work consistently varies in forms and appearances, from sculpture to sound installations, from performances to film and video works, all the while engaging with recurring themes such as dualism, representation and memory.
16 2/3 (2019). Vinyl, acrylic. 17.78 cm.
Wall-based work presenting two halves of a 7” vinyl disc and a cake decorating plate combined together to form a work that repurposes the music record as a sculptural object with minimalistic sensibilities, underscored by the choice of synthetic material and arrangement of the assemblages.
Feedback Loop (2018). Perspex mirror, modified books, cassette tapes. 37 cm x 43 cm. Photo by Ed Sykes
Partially a homage to the British artist John Latham (1921 – 2006) who often used books as sculptural materials – whether they are affixed to canvas or glass – the work suggests how bodies of knowledge, both in literature and media, can emerge from, or divide a society.
Earthworks (2018). A5 print on premium paper, wooden frame. 14 x 21 cm.
‘Earthworks’ is a series of scans representing 35mm slides of ground debris. Resulting from the act of burying blank transparencies into the ground, the pictures show how natural phenomena accumulated matter over time. Similarly to a ‘visual snow’ image, this process brings to the forefront the amorphous materiality of natural substances.