Terry Barber’s work is often concerned with found objects, stories, myths, and forgotten histories. Since uncovering several objects deep under the stairs in her family house during renovations – some hidden for maybe a hundred years or more – she has been using these as inspiration for her latest body of work.
These objects – among them a china doll, key, pink plastic deer, walking stick, button, wooden pegs and framed photograph, none of which she’d seen before or remembered – have variously been witness to two world wars, births, deaths, mischievous children and the ups and downs of five generations of the same family in this house. They could even be thought of as household deities, like the ancient Roman tradition of lares familiares, looking after the welfare of the home and the people in it from their involuntary shrine.
A permanent feature on the living room dresser since the 1960s, the collection of ‘Book Club’ books that belonged to Terry’s mother have found their way into much of the work in this exhibition (even though cutting and tearing books initially feels like sacrilege). Terry often uses non-traditional or recycled materials as they offer the chance to work freely and experimentally. They also have their own intrinsic appeal, and can spark new ideas or directions with an unexpected printed word, phrase or design.
Terry is a multidisciplinary artist who works across painting, collage, sculpture, printmaking, installation and, occasionally, animation. Having previously worked for many years as a journalist and editor on a wide range of magazines and publications, she now concentrates on her studio practice in south-east London.
Website: Terry Barber
Instagram: @terrybarberartist
Twitter: @terryscribble