Grace Ellen Barkey collects, films and photographs flowers and leaves from her immediate surroundings. Her most recent installations explore the transposition of a space into a narrowness, inviting the viewer to become part of the sensory work.
During a visit to Salzkammergut, Barkey learned about how climate change affects the area. This inspired her to make ‘Solastalgia’, for which she uses a series of videos she had shot of a lonely tree near a building site. The tree was beautiful, but the leaves were plastic waste from the construction site. Barkey imagines a world without nature, creating a poetic garden with a terrible prophesy that transforms the space into a dystopic garden.
In ‘Windows and Mosaic of Leaves’ Barkey meditates on nature and its impermanence. The church windows are covered with a photo collage of plants and flowers. Only at a second glance does it become apparent that the plants depicted are in a state of decay. Concentrating on these flowers and plants heightens our perception. In contrast, the floor will be covered with a mosaic of collected dried leaves.
