Justin Barfield

Artist Statement

My artwork focuses on the aftermath of failed systems. I find inspiration researching and responding to the collapse of industry, the declining economy, the abandonment of urbanized environments, and the deterioration of our culture from human-made and natural events. Most of what I am directly responding to relates to the physical changes located in postindustrial landscapes. These landscapes are deserted factories, abandoned homes, devastated environments, and decaying material.

How do we bring these sites back into a productive form of community and learn from past experiences to create a more sustainable society? By rearticulating the same ideas through different visuals approaches, I hope to bring awareness to these issues and our sites of dereliction.

Regardless of the final form of my art, two constants are always present. I use paper to create the form and rust to amend the outer surface of the paper. The paper brings into conversation the fragile state of these sites, almost frail to the touch, while the rusted surface brings weight to the form, the weight representing the substantial presence of these sites.