I'm Not a Robot
Elizabeth Barden
- Sitter: Elizabeth Barden
- Medium: Charcoal and Acrylic on Canvas
- Dimensions: 92cm x 92cm
- Representation: This artist represents themselves
About the artwork
In this self-portrait Elizabeth Barden anxiously peeks out at the world. Her own hands cover her face with her fingers tensely obscuring her features.
The image subverts the traditions of self-portraiture. Instead of the artist looking deeply into her own soul, she seems fearful of what she will see in the mirror.
Clearly stating she is not a robot, the artwork is “… a reaction to AI seeping into images, overwhelmingly unregulated and at times unethical; a fear of technology and the dark presence of not always knowing who or what is lurking behind that which makes it onto the internet and into our world.
“There is pressure on artists to increasingly allow all aspects of self and studio to be public, something that I have never been very comfortable with.”
Elizabeth Barden reinforces the human hand in the creation of the work by using charcaol, instead of her trademark oils. “I embrace the grittiness of charcoal, a direct connection and evidence of the artist. It is an intrinsically human urge to pick up a burnt piece of stick and make marks.”
About the artist
Elizabeth Barden is a contemporary, award winning figurative artist. She has had two solo exhibitions, and has been a finalist in many national art prizes, including the Brisbane Portrait Prize. She has exhibited nationally and internationally, and had a work travel to the moon. She has a work in the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra.
