Select Installation Works

I Was The First Of My Friends To Get A Car

In the Summer of 2017, Barbour participated as a mentor in Louisville Visual Art's The Future Is Now project. For 8 weeks, artists and high school art students are paired up and work together to create a final project to be shown at KyCAD’s 849 Gallery.

This collaborative multimedia installation was created by Brittney Sharp and Barbour during this program. A special thanks to the contributions of Sarah Davis, Katy Hartman, Hayley Ray, & Noah Marples.

Statement by J. Barbour:

'With this piece, we wish to capture the experiences of when you first start traveling and moving around the world independently, specifically in cars. There is an instant joy with this newfound freedom, as well as new responsibilities. This is the period where you explore new places, and in turn, explore yourself as a person. There is a certain intimacy in cars that lends itself to profound conversations, heart to hearts, and bonding amongst friends, family, or romantic partners— this piece allows the audience to experience that closeness and sense of exploration.'

Proxy

Proxy was a dance piece by choreographer Xavier Pellin of the Louisville Ballet with set design by J. Barbour. Performed on January 31st, 2019 for Louisville Ballet's Choreographers' Showcase in partnership with Kentucky College of Art + Design.

The set design consisted of 19 Apple flat screen desktop computers connected via a 16 port ethernet swtich, all of which are playing a short film to compliment Pellin's choreography.

Statement by J. Barbour:

'Through the choreography for our collaborative work Proxy, Xavier explored the idea that the lives we portray online are a curated facade and that our society has an increasing dependency on the technology that at times isolates us. When developing the visual element of the piece, I evaluated my relationship with technology and social media through the lens of these ideas. I drew inspiration from aesthetic trends of online communities and digital art, Xavier's choreography, and the concept of the internet as a real but ethereal place that is a skewed mirror of our reality. I seek to evoke the sense of being lost in this ghostly online plane, and the feeling of the hours many of us have spent wandering aimlessly on the internet.'

Choreography: Xavier Pellin

Visuals, Set Design: Joyce Barbour

Dancers: Ellie Abbick, Kayleigh Western, and Mark Krieger

Music: Aheym by Kronos Quartet

Technical Assistance: Bob Ackerman

All photos and video by Sarah Katherine Davis