120 x 180 cm | 47 x 70 in
Subject: People
Original painting in oil on canvas.
Alice Barker is an artist whose work delves into the intricate terrain of memory and nostalgia. A graduate of the University of Edinburgh with a BA (Hons) in Painting in 2021, Barker's practice is deeply personal, serving as a tool for the recollection of her own past. Her paintings evoke a powerful sense of nostalgia and yearning, inspired by the ephemeral nature of memories that often blur the lines between reality and dreams.
Barker's artistic approach is characterised by the use of collage and thin washes of oil paint and turpentine, creating layered, collage-like compositions that embody both calmness and a sense of disorientation. Her work often features a flattened perspective, with figures superimposed on expansive landscapes, creating a connection and disconnection that mirrors the nature of memory itself.
In her exploration of memory, Barker describes the process as wandering through a maze, encountering vistas and dead ends. This is reflected in the transparency of her colours, which emerge and fade away, capturing the fleeting nature of recollection. Her paintings often evoke a sense of vastness and intimacy, an uncanny duality that infuses her work with emotional depth.
Barker's participation in the RSA New Contemporaries 2023 exhibition highlights her as one of the promising talents in Scotland. This exhibition, which showcases the best emerging talent from Scottish art and architecture graduates, provides a platform for Barker's evocative exploration of memory and nostalgia.
Through her work, Barker invites viewers to engage with the duality of dreamlike disorientation and comforting nostalgia, creating a powerful and resonant artistic experience. Her paintings serve as a testament to the complexity of memory, capturing moments that are both vividly present and on the cusp of dissolving.