The “Non-Expert” is a perspective which may be adopted in order to access concealed, unexpected or undiscovered information about a material, object or environment. Stepping into this persona permits us to not know, placing value on unbound sensory experimentation towards producing artworks and widening participation in visual art.

The impact that tactile material experience has on our cognitive, creative and linguistic development has been broadly acknowledged by artists, critics and researchers. Exploring their properties directly through our skin enables us to fully comprehend language (Lehmann 2016); gather information about our environment (Contini 2018); and gain confidence about our place in the world (Albers 1965). Free experimentation with a variety of materials which highlighted their constructive potential has enabled artists to navigate significant shifts in visual art, expanding the myriad of forms an artwork might take (Krauss 1979, Morris 1968, Serra 1967).

The Non-Expert acts upon these critical hypotheses, locating them in the universal lived experience of our infancy: Barrett has developed this research from observing her baby daughter undergo a process of testing a variety of objects and materials in order to acquire new knowledge about their properties. With no prior assumptions of their use, she is liberated to discover affordances which may be otherwise concealed by familiarity and intended purpose. Tested in the field on residencies and in the studio, the Non-Expert has generated a practical toolkit which can facilitate artistic experimentation, offering a methodology which prioritises sensory exploration. In doing so it opens up new possibilities for democratising art production, placing it in the context of our early encounters with our material environment.

Author's note: this conference paper was accepted for presentation from an adapted reading from research essays which are available for public view on my research blog.