KIKI SMITH

While Smith’s earliest work focused on the female body, since the mid-1990s Smith has shifted her focus to the intersection between the human and natural worlds. This transition was spurredby a chance meeting with a scientist in 1994, who told her ‘how many mammals were projected tobe extinct in the next 40 years. I thought I should rather pay attention to that.’ The works in thisexhibition–representations of animals, plants and stars–are reminders of the fragility of ouruniverse.

Smith’s interest in myths of creation is sustained in her depictions of animals, which often appear as allegorical figures, uniting the human and non-human natural world. Deer Mating (2018)evokes Smith’s ongoing fascination with gender and reproduction, while the print series Sorcery(Hours) (2019) alludes to historical interpretations of weather phenomena as influenced bywitchcraft or magic.

Sculpture is fundamental to Smith’s practice; a medium explored here in delicate bronze, silver and aluminium forms. Works such as Cloudburst (2017) or Osprey with Fish (2017) crystallise inpermanent form the momentary beauty of an ecosystem in constant transition.

Printmaking is an equally vital facet of Smith’s work. When she began working with imagery of birds and other animals, Smith discovered the detailed, refined line available in etching, makingan ideal medium to describe feathers or fur. The delicacy of the work is enhanced by the tactilequality of the translucent, often handmade paper Smith uses, as seen in the series of intaglioprints entitled Standing (2014). Throughout the exhibition, Smith explores our identity in relationto the natural world, imbuing each work with the quality of a dark fairy tale.