'Still' from Andrew Barns-Graham furthers the artist's exploration of ideals and desires promoted by Western society’s obsession with the cult of celebrity - beauty, glamour and perfect faces - through altered depictions of movie stills from various periods in cinematic history.
The title 'Still' refers not only to the movie stills and promotional shots from which Barns-Graham has gleaned his source material, but also the tracing of patterns across time and continuity in the aspirations and vaunted ways of being. 'Classic' glamour from the 1950s is depicted alongside contemporary imagery to demonstrate the seemingly unchanging nature of western (particularly American) ideals.
Rather than appearing outmoded compared with contemporary icons, what these images from the 1950s represent is still instantly recognisable. Barns-Graham makes the point that we have not changed as much as we may think: rather than complete replacement of the visual language of consumerist society, these idealised aspirations come from a long tradition of continual promotion of the desire for perfection and the glamorous life.
The pared-back detail in his compositions focuses attention on the glamorous actors who populate his canvases. The faces evoke cinematic icons yet are altered to become anonymous and to remove associations that would indicate a life behind the immediately visible image of the soundstage and surrounding props.
"The lack of context, combined with Barns-Graham’s refinement and transformation of his original sources, ensures that the images remain superficial. He distils their essence until they become mere replications of emotion. Everyone is obviously ‘faking it’....Barns-Graham’s works do not ignore the compelling nature of these ideals and their fascination, but clearly delineate their unreality – his images are fantastic and farcical in the same gleaming moment." (Source: "Flash: New Work from Andrew Barns-Graham", Sanderson Gallery, 2009)
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