barnaby barford

barnaby barford started making one-off art pieces made from mass manufactured
or antique porcelain figurines at the same time or even before the more acclaimed designers
konstantin grcic, hella jongerius and ingo maurer have done it. like him, all these designers
re-assemble pieces of a historic and modern ‘kitsch’ production and put them as artwork
into a new context. those pieces often possess a dark sense of humour.
in barnaby’s work the titles are an important part of it, making an inroad to the piece
and sometimes giving a totally unexpected viewpoint. the ceramic or porcellain pieces
by barnaby barford are made by either painting on or cutting up the found figurines
and re-assembling them together providing a clever way of getting people to look again
at something they would on principle have dismissed. the way they are put together forces you
to look at the figures and the scene in a slightly disrupted way. a new conglomerate is the result,
a reworking of tradition that leaves it recognizable but witty, ... edited.


‘oh, I thought it would be bigger’
© barnaby barford, 2006
porcelain, enamel paint, zinc discs, glass tubes, painted wooden base


‘oh please can we keep it mummy?!’
© barnaby barford, 2006
porcelain, enamel paint, painted wooden base