Aaron Alexander Smyth

searching                     the timbre of your silent speech

Polychromos on 640gsm FabrianoArtistico. Pencil on 40gsm TosaShi. Pierced together with mild steel****

Nicodemus to your likeness

Etched aluminium, inset with lamp black oil and mounted on hand polished mild steel.

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*

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.

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.

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.




begged borrowed stolen

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.

searching                     the timbre of your silent speech

Polychromos on 640gsm FabrianoArtistico. Pencil on 40gsm TosaShi. Pierced together with mild steel****

Nicodemus to your likeness

Etched aluminium, inset with lamp black oil and mounted on hand polished mild steel.

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*

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.

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.

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.




begged borrowed stolen

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.

searching                     the timbre of your silent speech

Polychromos on 640gsm FabrianoArtistico. Pencil on 40gsm TosaShi. Pierced together with mild steel****

Nicodemus to your likeness

Etched aluminium, inset with lamp black oil and mounted on hand polished mild steel.

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*

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.

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.

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.




begged borrowed stolen

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.

flaming flowers that brightly blaze ✳✳

Pencil drawing on Fabriano Artistico 640gsm, Digital sculpture on HP film. Pewter casts and Lapel pins. 140x215cm.
This work was presented in OK_Gallery NewYork in September 2023, curated by Stephen Lau and Claire Harnenz.

a way / a lone, a last / a loved, a long the       

Polychromos pencil drawing, archival digital print, mild steel.

Red in all its excesses, readings and relations.
For me, this focus on, and reduction of, colour bracketed the viewing experience and emphasised colours’ integral role in the formation of meaning. Here, red signals something visceral; it’s intended to incite, set against cold, monochromatic metals and rhythmic, meditative linework in the drawn image. It talks of the body, in an equally seductive and fragile way.

Steel pierces the elements together, certainly reminiscent of some form of weapon. However, I primarily see these as representations of time and its trajectories, folding and fixing elements together at specific points, always to bear the mark of time occurrence. These two works, unfixed, rely on balance forged between the piercing point and their inert weight. Many readings towards the artwork’s meaning lie in this idea

.

These works were featured in Swatchedx Blush in the PipeFactory, Glasgow (An exhibition series curated ‘one colour at a time’ by Blake Ballard and Louise Campion) and GSAx HFBK, The Glue Factory, Glasgow.