With diverse influences ranging from the Bayeux Tapestries to Georgia O'Keefe and Anselm Kiefer; from physicist Fritjof Capra to punk musician Bjork, Barton spreads her search for inspiration wide with an ever inquisitive outlook. From the scientific to the mystical, historic to contemporary, ecological to warfare - Barton attempts to incorporate the multi-layered vastness of information in her celestial imagery.
There is an initial elemental simplicity in the construction of Barton's paintings - a simple circle in a square. On closer inspection this expands to a dense, multi-surfaced orb within a never-ending void. The result is spell-binding. Set against the blackest of black squares or the vast emptiness of space are immensely detailed, finely textured and vividly coloured orbs. The complexity of the orb's surface is more starkly highlighted because of the total lack of information in the blackness beyond.
Inspired by the elemental forces of the universe and the frailty of human existence, Barton seeks to reconcile the two visually within a picture that incapsulates a sense of contained yet pulsating energy.
"I love the idea that every atom in our bodies comes from supernova explosions. That human beings are made of stardust. That all matter is a composite of particles held together by electromagnetic energy. Nothing is truly solid and everything is vibrant energy filled with life force thus everything is interlinked. We are all connected to each other biologically - to the earth chemically and to the rest of the universe atomically."