The Images That Changed The World By Wayne Barker

Wayne Barker’s The World that Changed the Image uses technology in new and exciting ways. The image in the background of the screen print featured in a book entitled The Images that Changed the World. The artist uses the image as a judgement for the world in which we live in. The use of photography, which first originated in 1840, plays an immense role in creating meaning in this piece. The image which Barker uses creates a narrative; the viewer questions the identity of the boy and his contribution to the world. Barker’s pieces are known for their focus on the relationship between live and the image, which the use of photography captures well as it is the preservation of a fleeting moment, a life, in an image. The use of the photograph is also a comment on the way in which various images are produced and then reproduced. The photograph was initially taken by an individual, but through television, the internet and print
Barker gives the image meaning both by using it and by reproducing it, and then leaving the photograph of the boy to be again interpreted by the viewer.

The World that Changed the Image considers the reproduction of symbols as an image as well. Over the photograph of the boy, pink black and white polka dots, The Treachery of Images, and the popular politically-charged phrase “Je suis” (which makes reference to the solidarity phrase “Je Suis Charlie”) can all be seen in opulent, saturated colour. The jarring colours are a contrast to the black and white historical photograph. Through manipulation of images on programmes such as Photoshop, images can be worked-on or distorted to suit the artist. Barker has