Barton combines collage and paint with photography and printmaking techniques to create richly layered works exploring the material and political history of the South, and dissecting female stereotypes of Antebellum and contemporary Southern culture. The work reflects both Barton’s childhood memories of growing up in Mississippi, and her later efforts to define what it means to be from the South. Photographic self-portraits are often central to her compositions, in which Barton takes on multiple identities: virginal veiled bride, burlesque vixen, prom queen, Miss America. Images of women reoccur in her work, alongside quintessentially female ephemera: dressmaker’s patterns, lace, love letters, and traces of wallpaper from abandoned sharecropper shacks. Barton weaves these elements together with both nostalgia and a sense of disconnect. Ultimately, she allows the viewer only glimpses and shards of narrative. Instead of providing answers, Barton poses questions, leaving it to the viewer to create their own impression of the South.