Wayne Barrar’s photography emerged in the 1980s out of an interest in visualising and thinking about the human-modified landscape. His work at this time referenced both historical topographic photography (particularly 19th-century practice in New Zealand) and the influential American contemporary exhibition, New Topographics. While his later work has engaged with nature at other levels, including via issues such as biotechnology and within the realms of science, he has continued to be interested in the topographic.
This exhibition presents a sampling from some of Barrar’s projects from 1985 to the present, and uses the idea of the topographic to pair works in both classic and unconventional ways. Space is formed and divided in these images, from ‘macroscopic’ cleared landscapes to crystallised substances on microscope slides. Geographies and geometries overlap.