Through her work Rachael Barker explores spaces and objects which are often overlooked, such as Marble Marker, 2008, where Barker carved a replacement marble brick for a hole she found in a brick wall.

Her work is a consideration of material, form, and aesthetic with simple pared-down structures, and re-used architectural materials. There is a sense of care and intimacy for the materials selected; the gesture of hand polishing the surface of an I-Beam to such a degree that the utility of the beam is forgotten, an unnecessary intimacy with a material that is ordinarily hidden from view. Through these processes, Barker is attempting to change the material’s identity for re-examination.

The work is informed by architectural spaces, often working directly with the site. Additional Curve 2008, originally there was a straight section of RSJ protruding from the building, which had been used as a pulley to haul large stone into the studio for carving. The pulley system had become redundant. Barker cut and welded a curved section of steel to bolt onto the protruding RSJ; transforming and translating the space into sculpture enables a new interpretation or understanding of the space.

Parquet Door 2008 part of Barker’s Parquet Investigations, where four unused fire doors were cut into parquet flooring blocks. These blocks can be placed on the floor, stacked in a corner, or attached to the ceiling, with the handles remaining to enable recognition of the original functioning object. Translating the doors into a floor or moving them to the ceiling questions our perception of familiar objects, their function, and the space they
perform in.

Rachael Barker graduated from Wimbledon College of Art in 2008, where she studied sculpture. She has continued to research and develop her sculptural practice, recently taking part in a group residency at De Fabriek in Eindhoven, Holland.