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Dogman Painting

thomas smith

Vietnam

Painting, Oil on Canvas

Size: 26.4 W x 35.4 H x 1.2 D in

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About The Artwork

Dogman - from Tom Smith's 'Mantle project' 2006. 'Mantle' /mæn’tl/, n. a cloak or loose outer garment (arch.): a covering: – v.t. to cover: to obscure: to disguise. The main thrust for this project was to explore the circumstance of lens distortion within photography and capture this trans-formative occurrence by means of the oil painting. The images are 'blurred' and the characters have vague features and no identity. This lends itself well to the objective of this project, namely, shamanic rituals and folk beliefs Utilizing images from town carnivals, (from L. carnem levare, "a farewell to the flesh"), my starting point for this work stems from the ritual of role-play and self transformation, the donning of a mask and concealment. Rituals reveal to us that there is a fundamental human fancy to shape-shift, to seek anonymity and ultimately the freedom from responsibility. This was indeed the grounds for the ‘feast of fools’, for the Bacchanalia Rites. These rites can still be found in the amateur dramatics of town processions, masquerades, in traditional animistic ceremonies which have existed the world over for countless generations. I see a direct link to our archaic past, to Earth rituals universal among all human societies. My individual expression has a foundation in shamanic practices and casts a thread to the rich folklore of many cultures but particularly to dying British folk traditions such as the Padstow ‘Obby ‘Oss’, the Green Man tradition, or the old Mummers plays with their devils and animal masks. The ‘Mantle’ paintings incorporate a personal contemporary articulation, an expressionism that is a mixture of both melancholy and farce. For me, the characters in the paintings grew to become iconic figures imbued with a quasi-religious symbolism ie ; they become emblems of themselves.

Details & Dimensions

Painting:Oil on Canvas

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:26.4 W x 35.4 H x 1.2 D in

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Thao Dien, April 2023 Tom Smith is an Irish artist with an extensive artistic background that includes being a founding member of the Poole-based ArtWorks Studio collective and a graduate of the esteemed Art Institution in Bournemouth. For the past sixteen years, the artist has resided in Southeast Asia where he has established himself a recognized figure within the local expat art scene. Drawing inspiration from the German Expressionist movement, particularly Der Blaue Reiter and Die Brücke, the artist identifies as a Post Neo-Expressionist, and his work exudes a similar vibrancy and complexity. Furthermore Smith explores other methodologies such as graffiti style stenciling or producing monochromes in graphite and resin which create outcomes similar to daguerrotypes in early photography. Overall, through exploring the nuances of incongruity and ambiguity, the artist's pieces have been commented upon for their subtle, latent foreboding. Having held solo exhibitions in London and the South West of England, the artist's most recent project, entitled "Tourist," is a continuation of the themes explored in their earlier series, "The Visitors," which was featured in the 2014 exhibition "Nevertheless." The show 'Tourist', which was held at Soma in Ho Chi Minh City in March 2022, garnered considerable interest for its captivating depictions of Asian landscapes populated by an eclectic cast of characters whose juxtaposition serves as a crucial narrative counterpoint. As a result, the exhibition firmly established Soma on the local artistic map.

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