David Barriero – A Breach of Margins

I am interested in the concept of labour in relation to the processes of social, cultural and psychological development. This body of work focuses on the elements that embody, even if just metaphorically, ideas related to dominant constructions of gender, social hierarchy and economic system. The working environment is understood as a place for the generation of structures, not just physical, but also ideological.

The project draws also from my interest in theories of representation, paying specific attention to the work of German playwright Bertolt Brecht. He believed that, when the spectator is able to realize the artifice, he is forced into unconventional interpretations of what is being represented, a process with subversive potential.

In that sense, I try to convey the idea that similarly to fiction, ideology is ultimately a product of direct experience. Human interpretation is what makes different ideas emerge form the same material elements.

David Barreiro (1982, Pontevedra, Spain) is a photographer and visual artist currently living and working in London. In his practice, he focuses on social constructions and their role in the configuration of identity categories and institutionalised activities. His photographs fluctuate between the literality of documentary photography and the evocative tension and artificiality of the staged image.

He completed his MA Photography at the RCA in London in 2019. His work has been shown internationally in public and private venues like Galician Centre for Contemporary Art (Santiago de Compostela), Canal de Isabel Segunda (Madrid), National museum of Iceland (Reykjavik), Ramskram Gallery (Reykjavik) or Dayson Gallery (London), and is one of the selected artists of the Parallel European Photo Platform 3rd cycle and Trevor Smith CSR Art Program 2019.