Photographed across four years and four continents, The Canary and The Hammer details the human worship of gold and its role in the ruthless pursuit of progress. Through a mix of image, text and archival material, Lisa Barnard provides a fascinating insight into the troubled history of gold and the complex ways it intersects with the global economy.
Gold is everywhere in modern life. The mineral is concealed at the heart of much of the technology we use, and it is a potent symbol of value, beauty, purity, greed, and political power. Barnard’s project strives to connect distinct stories—from the mania of the gold rush and the brutal world of modern mining, to the sexual politics of the industry and gold’s often dark but crucial role at the heart of high-tech industry.
Prompted by the financial crisis of 2008 and its stark reminder of the global west’s determination to accumulate wealth, Barnard sets out to question gold’s continued status as an economic barometer amid new forms of technological high-finance. By addressing this through photography, she raises the question of how her chosen medium can respond to such abstract events and concepts. The result is an ambitious project that sketches a personal journey in which she tackles the complexity of material representation in these fragmented and fraught times.
Lisa Barnard is a British artist, researcher, and teacher whose photographic practice addresses real events using traditional documentary modes, alongside more contemporary visual and computer forms. Her work addresses the current political climate and the military-industrial complex, alongside perspectives of technological innovation, perception and new ecologies. Barnard combines her interest in aesthetics with multi-layered visual presentations.
She has exhibited widely in museums and festivals and serves as Associate Professor and Head of the Master’s Program in Documentary Photography at the University of South Wales. She has published four monographs: Chateau Despair, Hyenas of the Battlefield, The Canary and the Hammer (Getty Prestige Images Award), and You Only Look Once. In 2025, she won the CRESPO AFTER NATURE Award.
