Exhibitions

Roy Barker -
Dressing down

29th May - 29th July 2006

Roy Barker takes photographs of absence. His work eliminates human presence and instead depicts moments after involvement and interaction - the abandoned.

In Dressing Down, Barker is exhibiting new work depicting exclusive jewellery window fronts at night. The regalia of the working hours has been removed. There is a sense of traces left behind, shadows of the day's former opulence. With no jewellery on offer, naked mannequins, empty watch stands and redundant price tags allude to daylight former glory. The photographs seem to have a lingering, almost static time frame. The displays have become scaled down, desolate city-scapes and abandoned urban theatre sets.

In this vacancy, Barker sees an opportunity for imagination. “I try to capture images that perhaps may ordinarily only be seen in a passing glance. Here, I have framed what could be a throwaway moment, tempting the viewer to study the scene more intensely”.

Roy Barker graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2003, and had his first major exhibition a year later in association with the National Campaign for the Arts. He has continued to freelance, with work featuring in Grafik magazine and was recently selected to exhibit in Petites Morts at the Glass House Gallery.

Dressing Down is the photographer’s latest body of work, from an ongoing series entitled ‘Window Shopping’.

Other Artist information: Roy Barker's website