lithograph
31 x 29cm, unframed
edition of 20

Jean Barth trained as a painter, and her works play on traditional genres of portraiture and still life—but exceed them. Much of her work explores themes of self representation and embodiment, contending with her experience as a trans-woman, navigating the constant pressures of visibility and vulnerability.

Using 3D-modelling software, she creates stages, avatars, and props, which are transmuted into screen-printed oil paintings, animated videos, and now sculptures. Barth uses avatars to avoid representing herself directly. But, even when she does, she often coyly conceals or elides their identities, catching us in an infinite regress, as if constantly postponing our encounter with her.

Barth developed this lithograph alongside work she made for her 2024 Institute of Modern Art show The Clumped Spirit. Mocap Portrait looks like a multiple-exposure photograph. Fingers hide a face, concealing it. Yet, at points, it seems we can see through them. We glimpse an eyebrow and the lashes of a closed eye, but not an identifiable face. Here Barth’s avatar wears motion-capture equipment, recalling imagery and processes from other recent works.

The image is printed in 18% grey ink, considered the neutral ‘middle tone’ in photography, by Christopher Hagen at Grey Hand Press, Meanjin/Brisbane.

IMA Editions are limited-edition works exclusively for sale in our onsite and online store. Editions make collecting high-quality contemporary art affordable and accessible. All funds raised contribute to the IMA’s exhibition program, which focuses on commissioning new work from Australian artists at pivotal points in their careers.