Style spectrum: Zoë Barker

Style spectrum Zoë Barker – photographer of the home

Zoë Barker never intended to become a photographer. But a gifted camera, chance redundancy and the loss of her grandfather prompted her to capture his house exactly as he had left it: precious memories of a life lived, which later became her first solo exhibition, Relative Spaces.

Armed with rolls of film, Zoë began to document the beauty in his everyday; spaces and objects that had been taken for granted suddenly full of stories. Describing her fascination with capturing the extraordinary in the ordinary, Zoë says: “Other people’s homes are curious places: a reflection of our interests, work, histories, successes, failures, plans and aspirations. As our lives change so these domestic spaces evolve, often hardly noticed – a stage for the daily human drama. “A photograph forces a second look: ordinary settings elevated by focus, the unnoticed suddenly noticed. I think that exploring ‘home’ ultimately brings us close to what it is to be human.”

From left to right:

Hacker Radio – Zoë’s father-in-law had been a collector all his life; a house full of countless books, maps, fossils and model aircraft. Zoë kept the radio, and listens to it most days. She keeps scraps of the wallpaper in a drawer, and dreams of one day having a replica made in her own house.

Kitchen Socket – The kitchen in the caretaker’s cottage at Zoë’s old secondary school. She took great delight in exploring spaces that she hadn’t been allowed to access as a pupil.

Portrait of a Boy – This little boy lived into old age and has now passed away. His daughter has inherited the house and decided to preserve much of the surviving décor for the grandchildren to enjoy.

Belling Cooker – John inherited this farm from his parents, who were lifelong hoarders. They filled the farmhouse to the brim, locked the door and built another house which they also filled before moving into an adjacent mobile home.

Grandfather’s Parlour Chair – From the series Relative Spaces. This was Zoë’s grandfather’s favourite chair. The coal burner heated water for the only two radiators in the large three-storey house. Elderly Sisters’ Shared Bedroom - From the series House of Two Sisters. Sisters Jean and Joy were born in this house in Ryde in 1916 and 1922 and remained here for most of their lives. They shared this bedroom from the 1950s until Jean passed away in 2008. The photo shows family friend and Spitfire pilot George Gribble. On 4 June 1941 he baled out over the sea near Dunkirk - he was never found.