DescriptionQ5565
I’m Looking for Barbara was created for ‘Unfolding The Archive’, two large scale exhibitions by Floating World Artist Books at the NCAD Gallery in Dublin and the F.E. McWilliam Gallery and Studio in Bannbridge Co. Down in 2015.
The exhibitions set out to investigate the archives at The National Irish Visual Arts Library (NIVAL) and explore the richness of the archive as a starting point for the creation of new artworks. Floating World’s artists developed new narratives in response to objects in the archive which are both local and international in their resonance.
The search for Barbara was initially prompted by a ‘Night at the Museum’ event at the Government Art Collection. A free catalogue given away revealed there were artworks in the collection that could not be included because the collection had lost contact with the copyright holder and therefore couldn’t print a photo of the work. Intrigued by this example of how artist’s work can become missing from the histories the search for Barbara was initially focussed on the collection artist Barbara Brine (venn diagrams and a little arbitrary artistic licence had led to this choice) but a phone call to a potential relative highlighted that searching for real people came with concerns, and it was decided that the search should be for a nominal Barbara. Looking through the archives in NIVAL it further became clear that the search was not intended to have an outcome. If ‘Barbara’ was found then she was the wrong Barbara.
The work consists of a pamphlet, rolodex and video.
NIVAL has a series of collectors who are paid to gather material for the archive from exhibitions, galleries and events around the country. Three substantial items mean the creation of an artist’s folder in the main collection. The pamphlet is written by a notional Barbara Collector with advice on how to gather evidence and proposals for direct action including encouragement to physically insert Barbaras into other archives.
The Barbara rolodex is used to collect suggestions from visitors of other missing artists.
The video documents the artists search and can be viewed at https://www.sarahcarne.co.uk/work/im-looking-for-barbara