Mandy Barker’s Explorations of Synthetic “Specimens”

Abstract

With the alarming escalation of plastic pollution throughout the world, plastic waste has become a prominent theme and material in contemporary art. Seeking to delve deeper into the issue of plastic pollution, some artists draw inspiration from scientific research and collaborate with scientists. This article focuses on the work of British photographer Mandy Barker, who combines artistic creation with research to address the accumulation of plastic in the marine environment. In her creative exploration of plastic waste, Barker has worked alongside marine biologists, joined research expeditions, and adopted practices associated with scientific enquiry. Her latest project—Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Imperfections (2025)—examines the “specimens” of discarded synthetic plastic clothing through taxonomy. Barker not only explores the cultural significance of plastic waste but also engages with the very materiality of discarded plastic and its coexistence with sea life in the plastisphere. Drawing on new materialist thought, this article discusses Barker’s artistic practice as partaking in the naturecultures of plastic waste. New materialist theories aim to challenge dualistic oppositions—such as nature and culture, matter and meaning, body and mind—as well as the disciplinary divide between the sciences and the humanities. In new materialist understanding, matter is meaningful and also agential: Material things can exhibit their own effectivity, exceeding human control and agency. This article combines the new materialist conceptual framework with intermedial analysis to explore how Barker’s artistic practice shapes non-dualistic and non-anthropocentric understandings of art and the waste crisis.