Stephen Barry (Deceased)

Stephen was a longtime sufferer of Leukodystrophy, a debilitating degenerative condition. His artwork centered around his internal struggle with his own body. He used constructed metaphors and interactive prosthetic limbs to bring the viewer  into his experience. His ready-made sculptures often depicted his own image, sometimes in a humorous guise, but always with a sense of foreboding related to the inevitable outcome of his condition. On a sound recording within the exhibition you could hear Stephen say the words: “the future for me, is bleak” after a technical explanation of his condition by presumably a doctor. The sound piece was played on a loop. Stephen had also manufactured a series of prosthetic limbs and appendages, which could be worn on request by people attending the exhibition. The idea being to impair the mobility of the wearer in a similar fashion to how Stephen himself was impeded by his own body.

On a personal note Steve was a good friend and an incredible artist, he approached his life, artwork and condition with courage and honesty. His work holds integrity because it is a true representation of Steve himself and shows his deepest vulnerability unflinchingly.

I miss you my friend