River Smith - MFA Fine Art
not suitable for children
How have you been affected by the coping mechanisms passed down to you?
Why does the cycle of maladaptive coping mechanisms passed down from generation to generation seem so pervasive?
Are we predisposed to enact violence; be it physical, emotional or verbal, against each other? Is it a part of our animal nature?
How can the audience's discomfort be used as a tool to evoke change, understanding and empathy?
These questions have become the central focus of my studio practice. Fascinated by the relationship between childhood experiences and psychology my work explores the cyclical patterns of intergenerational trauma. It is both a desire to understand the passing down of emotional and behavioural reactions from one generation to the next, and a hope that these cycles can be broken.
This theme is explored through a diverse range of media, with a preference for the sculptural, performative or installative. In each work, often realised with various modes of making, focus is given to process, form and materiality.
‘NFSC’, which includes ‘the act of experiencing fear’ here in the holden gallery as well as works on display at 70 oxford road, is a collection of metaphors for those behaviours modelled to children and their affects. I’m working to find the balance between intrinsic childlike joy and harmful or destructive process. Often taking a well loved childhood object and rendering it as incapable of performing its intended function.
These works are designed to confront the comfortable and soothe the uncomfortable.
