Kate Barton

‘Cultural Science (Blue)’ is part of a large body of work which Barton created while she was coming to terms with a terminal illness. Her diagnosis sparked an interest in the nature of cellular matter and the human body. She created this work by applying white spirit to oil paints – through a series of random yet controlled artistic gestures. The patterns which emerge resemble a culture of cells, so that both the means of creating the work and the work’s appearance mimic chemical processes. Barton herself hoped that the painting would inspire ‘feelings of both impermanence and instability’, alluding no doubt also to the fragility of her own body.