Free Fall
|
|
| “Within the process of a leap, one has some control over the upward thrust. But once the body has risen to its apex, there is no choice but to submit to descent. One must therefore take a leap of faith. It means trusting that when you fall, you will be caught or you will land on solid ground.” In Free Fall, Joshua Barndt has depicted figures that represent our complex society, vulnerable and seemingly out of control. Scientific studies tell us of the grave danger posed to earth’s delicate ecosystems, and it seems it may already be too late to slow the runaway climatic changes we have catalyzed. Creating this series was an attempt to come to terms with what Barndt sees as the frightening instability of our current situation, which he expresses through the imagery of bodies in free fall. The oil paintings depict friends and family members realistically rendered and tumbling through space. The backgrounds are intentionally void of the contexts of time or place, putting the focus solely on the figures and their precarious positions, at once compelling and disturbing. This work begs us to ask: what is happening around us that engenders a sense of free fall? Do we see ourselves in these fleeting bodies? Do they open our imaginations to fears of impending disaster or fantasies of potential liberation? Joshua Barndt is a Toronto-based painter, installation artist, and curator. His artistic work stands out for its technical proficiency and raw emotive imagery. His work explores the decline of contemporary society and environmental degradation, and is dominated by dramatic images of bodies in free fall and dark dystopian landscapes. Barndt has exhibited extensively in Montreal and Toronto. He presented large public installations as part of Art Souterrain during Montreal’s contemporary arts festival Nuit blanche. |
|
