Chromatic Terrains traverses a palimpsest of Earth's endless cycles of life and death, creation and destruction, over eons, produced by natural forces. Barnes has meticulously sourced these pigments from the disturbed landscapes of landslides, road cuts, and erosion from across the Bundjalung Country of the Northern Rivers. The raw materials reveal the transformative power of time and geological processes, igneous lava fows and pre-volcanic soils, created between than 26 and 250 million years ago.
The Chromatic Terrains series ofers a meditative pause to refect; inviting us to contemplate how we, as inhabitants of this land, change over time through internal and external experiences. As Zhuangzi once said, "Let your mind wander in simplicity, blend your spirit with the vastness, follow along with things the way they are, and make no room for personal views”.
Chromatic Terrains proposes a phenomenological experience that invites the viewer's contemplation and imagination. Through this interaction, the work ofers an opportunity for viewers to refect on their own experiences of transformation and change, and to connect with the vastness and complexity of the world around them.
