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B+W© Mandy Barker›
Artificial flowers recovered from various beaches in Hong Kong provided
subject matter for an image in Mandy’s HONG KONG: 1826 series.The movement and direction of waste polystyrene is explored
in this spread from Mandy’s HONG KONG: 1826 series.I
n the past, my sketchbooks have contained
newspaper clippings, feathers, swatches
of material, handwritten notes, postcards
and, of course, photographs. These
pictures are rarely my own, instead they
have been torn out of exhibition catalogues,
magazines and leaflets – resulting in a
rather eclectic mix. An image by Walker
Evans sits alongside a note from the council
chastising my father for his overgrown
hedge. An advert for a Golf Estate butts
up against a postcard promoting a Lee
Friedlander exhibition I once attended in
LA. Occasionally there are scribbled notes,
explaining the connections between entries,
but more often than not the link is purely
visual. There are no rules governing what to
include, but there is a clear sense of curation.
A few months ago I became aware of
a series of sketchbooks created by
photographic artist Mandy Barker. Mandy
is best known for her incredible images of
marine plastic debris, and she works alongside
scientists to create pieces that attract and
repel in equal measure. What at first seem like
innocent explosions of colour and shape turn
out to be discarded pieces of plastic. Science
and research are fundamental to Mandy’s
work, so it’s no great surprise to learn that she© Mandy Barker