BARNABY BARFORD

‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’

8 September - 3 October 2023

An exhibition in which technology and the natural world seamlessly intertwine.

Over the past three years, Barford, who works fluidly across sculpture, ceramics, moving image, drawing and painting, has immersed himself in the captivating embrace of Epping Forest, where he has sought solace and inspiration, while reflecting on the passage of time.

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A reflection on Barford’s journey through the forest's winding paths, the exhibition emerged from the peculiar conditions of 2020 onwards, when countless walks in London’s woodlands led to him accumulating thousands of photographs of flora and fungi. Many of the images from his intensive walks have been transformed into four large-scale moving-image artworks that the artist calls Living Paintings.

Barford overlays the photographs, crafting intricate layers that gradually evolve over a loop lasting an hour and a half. What was once a simple snapshot of nature, hypnotically blossoms into galactic scenes, microscopic realms, and even tribal masks. Barford says: "These works are an invitation to slow down, I wanted to create an oasis of calm in contrast to the velocity of the 21st Century life".