The Long View (Women Artists in the Studio)

In the face of uncertainty, I am often drawn to the stability of standardized time. Days and months, hours and minutes measure the immeasurable and anchor the moment. These works attempt to address the tension and alchemy that arises between what is knowable and quantifiable and what is not. In Structures of Time, the video overlay of tree branches swaying in the wind is projected onto twelve shapes that represent each month of the year. These blank calendar shapes provide an architecture that grounds the shadowy trees. The blurring of the tree branches and calendar shapes in the video’s bottom half creates a dissolving permeable dreamscape. The top and bottom of this piece balance each other in a continuous loop, generating a tense lullaby for these unsteady times.  The piece, 2020 Solar Calendar is made up of twelve mirrored acrylic rectangles representing each month of the year 2020. Within each month, the amount of daylight on a given day (in Boston) is registered on a grayscale. These mirrored forms, reflect and refract light, which dissolves the materiality of each calendar month and projects shimmering ripples onto the surrounding surfaces. Both Structures of Time and 2020 Solar Calendar merge physical timetables with their ephemeral counterparts, creating a flowing picture of time.

Artscope Review
Deborah Barlow: Slow Muse Review