Rituals - following in my shadow's footprints

Ian Kingsford-Smith’s solo exhibition at ARO Gallery in Sydney is a study in history, beliefs, mythology and diverse cultural practices. In keeping with his larger body of work, Kingsford-Smith connects ancient practices and contemporary culture through visual narratives.Key elements of stories are depicted using personal life narratives, historic myths, the cycle of life, ancestor worship, archetypal experiences of love, despair, faith and death; these are recognisable and universal, and Kingsford- Smith’s distinctive use of colour and figurative style provides a visual syntax which invites the viewer to respond and imaginatively construct a narrative which has personal meaning. The images can be understood as both specific and symbolic, referencing mythology, ancestral worship, rituals and contemporary narratives as a way to connect the past, present, and future. Themes such as these have been in the artists’ work over a number of years with exhibitions dating back to 2015 with Mappa Vitae, Lineage (2016), Afterlife (2017), Votives (2018) and Artefacts (2019).

In this exhibition the artworks reference life, death, memory and the influence of deceased relatives on the living and the way they leave their emotional footprints. The series of wood engravings and linocuts illustrate the relationship between the living and the dead and the diverse dimensions of human experience. A number of the linocuts reference the current global pandemic and the isolation and suffering that it has imposed on individual lives.