Wallpiece with blue mirror words 2006

This is a wall piece, maybe vinyl, with blue mirror words, by Robert Barry. He's using language here as his material. Just words, spread out across the architecture. It’s a conceptual move, really. I’m thinking about the word “Glorious”, stretched vertically, and how it catches the light. It's like the other words, but because of its placement, its length, it feels a bit like a monumental, yet fragile, column. Each word seems carefully chosen, a prompt, a suggestion. It has this feeling of light bouncing around. Barry's work reminds me a little of Ed Ruscha, but without the pop art punch. He's quieter, more introspective. And for me, it brings up questions about how we assign meaning, and how context can change everything.