Lorien Barker (He/Him)
Lorien Barker (b.1997) is a photographic artist, who lives and works in Glasgow. For the last two years, he has produced work within a specific site called, ‘The Singing Sands’. He approaches work through this space, as a means for exploration, isolation and connection with himself and the natural environment. His work addresses how materiality and process often conflict with a sustainably intended practice. He often does this by inspecting photographic processes and altering the respective chemistry, in order to relate the materials and the site, in which the work were made.
This body of work explores the impact that a photographic practice can have on an environment. Silver gelatine prints were produced at a specific beach on the West Coast, using a seaweed-based developer. Once the chemistry expired, these solutions had to be dumped into the nearby stream. By creating photographic prints on-site, the approach eliminates the abstract concept of ‘damage potential’ and forms more tangible connections between creation and pollution.
This approach advocates for emotional, experiential, and tacit approaches to art research. It acknowledges and embraces material contradictions that arise within sustainably intended photographic practice. The emphasis on personal quantities, offers agency to reconsider our wider environmental impact.