Wayne BARKER

Wayne Barker was born in Pretoria, South Africa, in 1963, into a conservative white working class family. Based in Johannesburg, he came to prominence in the late 1980s, at the height of the political turmoil of apartheid. He remains one of the most prolific and influential artists to emerge from the country. Barker's work has been featured in several world biennials, art fairs and major retrospective exhibitions. He works in a variety of media including painting, printmaking, sculpture, video, performance and installation. In addition to collaborations with other artists, Barker has collaborated with the Qubeka Beadwork Studio based in Cape Town, South Africa, to make large-scale glass beadwork. His primary concerns include the legacy of colonialism in South Africa, issues of land and protest - as evidenced in works referencing the paintings of JH Pierneef - issues of race, reconciliation and accountability, and a sensitivity to humanistic concerns bordering on the poetic. His work has influenced contemporary art practice in South Africa, with many of his contemporaries and younger artists citing his work as a turning point in perspective and practice.