searching
the timbre of your silent speech
Polychromos on 640gsm FabrianoArtistico. Pencil on 40gsm TosaShi. Pierced together with mild steel****
92x124x12cm

Nicodemus to your likeness
Etched aluminium, inset with lamp black oil and mounted on hand polished mild steel.
38x48x3cm
2024

me, softly
the ramparts of your Elsinore
Oil with ash and Polychromos on primed 640gsm FabrianoArtistico. 3D modelled teardrops, recast in SterlingSilver (smelted from personal effects accrued over half a lifetime). Document ash remnants on TosaShi. Pierced together with mild steel*
62x110x12cm
2024

my inability to sever the wood from the trees
GoodbyeEvergreen
Polychromos on 640gsm FabrianoArtistico bound to 19mm limed Ash, HP Archival transparency. Bound together with cotton rope.
62x410x3cm
2024

talamh fiáin
(ode to my debtors)
Oil and Polychromos on primed 640gsm FabrianoArtistico with Ash stretcher. Puncture holes gilded with stolen 24ct GoldLeaf (let it be the last thing i take from you). Dried sage.
120x180x3cm
2024

he fell, like a prince
Pencil on 640gsm FabrianoArtistico. Archival pigment print on 120gsm EpsonSingleweightMatte. 40gsm TosaShi. Ceramic beads from damaged rosary. Acrylic Vinyl cutting. Hand framed with limed Ash.
28x38x3cm
2024

Aaron Alexander Smyth

This new body of work narrates a personal ceremonial journey, intertwining it within the broader socio-historical relationship with the transcendental, exploring our intimate connection with absence, grief and the intentionality of its associated phenomena, the things we use to mark and the markings we carry along with us. A shrine to people begged, borrowed and stolen, exploring their haunting, enchanting spectral presence.

In this way, the work seeks to foster a contemplative space in which to negotiate these social or personal histories, one which might act as a catalyst to generate new knowledge, engender alternate practices or reveal dynamic perspectives on our interconnectedness.

The work takes formal cues from art historical and cinematic references, channelling and questioning their role in the formation of cultural knowledge. These representations are translated, layered and bound together to enshrine meaning in their proximity. Weight, reiteration and material selection add to this at a quantum level, different kinds of silent speech, a dialogue, collection or collision of intent from which we scramble towards Truths.

In a world shaped by structural and historical circumstances, global influences and localised positioning, this work aims to present a counter-contextualised enigmatic encounter, a curious and mischievous Riddle where meaning is found or forged in the overlaps and gaps that emerge inbetween elements and audience, continuing to unfold through time and reflection.