Local is a new exhibition by artist Glen Smith. Grungy street art inspired urban environments and skylines captured in their full illuminated glory. Artworks that are specific in their Geelong locations, yet captured in a “glimpsing” manner allowing for both familiarity for the locals with their intimacy of the physical locations, while also creating broader associations of inner city environments for a wider audience base through the use of common urban symbolism, architecture and constructs. Through portraits of places, street scenes, fleeting snapshots and panoramas ‘Local’ captures the very nature of the inner city of Geelong and the general atmosphere of ones surroundings when living in a contemporary cityscape. Physically the work borrows its aesthetics heavily from the streets that it aims to capture, with urban/street art traits and techniques inspiring and informing the paintings through stencilling, spray painting and various contemporary print techniques. Metaphorically, the artworks are Psychogeographic, mapping the artist’s personal environment and his day-to-day travels instilled with memories, associations and experiences. On a philosophical level, the works geo-tag Smith’s daily life while depicting the beauty of his urban travels and views about the beauty inherent in the entropy of his environment. All captured at street level. Local can refer to familiar places or a state of mind. It can be a positive or a negative. It may mean home to some while others see it as an anaesthetic. However you view local, be it favourably or otherwise we are all locals somewhere. Local continues through to 17 August.
