Lucy Barker

Together Apart

Biography

Barker (b.2002) pulls back the curtain on domestic intimacy, in a world where the barrier separating public and private life is increasingly porous. She seeks to address the complex push and pull of connection and disconnection that defines contemporary relationships. Her scenes blend the surreal with the figurative, to capture the emotional complexities of modern bonds in a hyper-connected world. By intertwining autobiographical and fictional narratives Barker’s work is simultaneously extremely personal and entirely vague, expressing the tension between artist and subject, lovers and among individual and society. The protagonists are often captured suspended in a fugue state; their quiet contemplation draws the viewer into their internal world. By interplaying forthrightness with ambiguity, the viewer is encouraged to turn inwards then project out onto the works, curating their own understanding of the narrative.

Barker is fascinated by the inherent openness and clarity of the line. She employs observational drawings to inform her etching compositions, often working on the zinc plates for weeks at a time as she experiments with alternative techniques, such as sugar lift and aquatint, to enrich her narratives.

‘Blonde Hair’ (2025) [Ink on Paper]