Anna Barriball

Anna Barriball, Untitled, 2008. Curtain fabric, dimensions variable. Courtesy the artist and Frith Street Gallery, London.

Exhibitions

30 September - 27 November 2011

Anna Barriball’s first major survey exhibition, at MK Gallery, brings together drawing, video, photography and sculpture made over the last decade.

Barriball often coats ordinary objects such as bags and lamps in pen and ink or makes impressions of windows and doors by meticulously tracing their surfaces with pencil on paper and magnifying the incidental details and textures created by every day wear and tear.

At the same time, much of her work evolves from spontaneous discoveries, channelling natural forces with little or no physical contact. A video records a sheet of paper sucked in and out of a fireplace by a draught while new images are created as ink bubbles burst over found photographs. Other works lie at a crossroad between interior and exterior or private and public as a blown up image shows mysterious figures staring out of a window and leaves cut out of second hand curtains are strewn across the floor.

Whether capturing specific instances or conjuring hazy memories, Barriball’s work combines intense, concentrated moments with slight, playful gestures, highlighting the fleeting moments and discreet surroundings that witness our passage through time and space.

Press Release Exhibition Guide