Shannon Smith

Final Project

‘A look into: Wings’

My practice explores cyclical processes and repetitive form/pattern in nature. Through this exploration I attempt to capture the delicate arrangements, underlying construction, and quiet beauty of the natural world. The materials I use in my work are fragile, sheer, and light, and my palette is subtle and reduced. I find these material qualities to be evocative of my themes.

While my practice is rooted in printmaking, over the course of my final year this definition has expanded to printmaking as a form of sculpture. This evolution of my practice has been informed by the desire to create work that is more experiential in nature and holds greater presence in a space. In my degree show exhibition, I made the decision to focus on the intricate patterns and array of colours found within the wings of butterflies and moths. I determined my woven outcomes from the previous semester best captured the essence of this subject, and as such, I used this sculptural format to form the basis of my plans for final work in my degree show.

Through my work I seek to instil feelings of calm, pause, and quiet contemplation onto the viewer. This is informed through my personal responses to the themes of my practice, as well as through explorations of how nature is perceived through the lens of spirituality and spiritual teachings in religious practices such as Taoism and Buddhism. My choices in presentation and display reflect these qualities through the use of stillness and light, open space.

I am inspired by artists Wolfgang Laib and Agnes Martin, whose works elicit a particular brand of minimalist art rooted in symbolism and spirituality, which I have attempted to translate across into my own art practice.