Class of 2026 • Painting

Isabelle Smith


Isabelle Smith
Institution
National College of Art and Design (NCAD)

Medium
Painting

Graduation Year
Class of 2026


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My painting practice constructs visceral, multi-layered, claustrophobic compositions that are intensified by selective symbolic objects. These enclosed interior spaces disorient the viewer and reflect bodily and psychological labour. This body of work is a reflection of the female experience, histories of institutionalised containment, societal isolation, and restraint. My large-scale oil paintings are the result of archival research, personal reflections, and expressive grammars of painting. The colour pink is a recurring dominant element of my work; the synthetic nature of the material contrasts with this heavy subject matter and reflects upon contemporary society's attitudes towards stereotyping and silencing women. Methods such as scraping, dragging and covering up paint reinforce the historical context of the work in relation to violence against women and the covering up of state occurrences. The addition of a strangely humorous signature rabbit acts as a sense of comfort surrounding such traumatic narratives.
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