EXPANDED BODIES/DISORDERED BOUNDARIES
Date: 11th Jul - 15th Aug
Barbara Touati-Evans @btouatievans
is a visual artist working in installation, sculpture, textiles and performance. Through hyper-textured and tactile work, her practice explores connections and boundaries in human relationships and in the body.
She uses diverse materials and techniques: wool and crochet, fabric and stitching, natural materials as well as personal and found domestic objects, which she combines to make 3d collages or large-scale interactive installations.
Originally from France, she is based in Farnborough, Hampshire.
“I tend to focus on a specific theme for several years. What excites me is colliding worlds and contexts.
Leading the way are the materials and the sensorial responses they bring. I like to play and assemble them in different ways until something clicks and reveals itself. Colours, texture and memories contained in the object are all important.
Recording my thoughts in a studio diary is also a sensory act, the fountain pen gliding on the paper. Once made, each piece is sketched to uncover different layers and a title. Making art is a ritual and a way to make sense.
The final element of my practice is the installation in the space, which will change and illuminate the work. It is key to respond to the energy of a place.
My work is an invitation to connect to a deeper sense in the body, viscerally. I am interested in how people respond to the work but also to the whole space, how they move in it.”