Check in at the Art Hostel: Ocean Galaxy by Mandy Barker

At first glance, the black walls and expanse of circular shapes appear to be faraway galaxies, floating through the vastness of space. When you look at the details, they are in fact footballs, photographed and brought together in a constellation that spans all the way around the walls of the room. 

Scarred and beaten up, the footballs photographed have lived a life. Each of the balls has been collected from beaches around the world, after being washed up as waste from the oceans. Through the darkened walls and the way in which the bed centralises you under a pattern of 769 footballs collected by the public, you are put into a reflective space, thinking about the scale of waste in our oceans. Though it is a reflective space, the constellations of Ocean Galaxy offer a calm distance as you spend the night under them. 

Find Mandy Barker:
Instagram: @mandybarkerphotography 
Website: mandy-barker.com