The Green Room Exhibitions: Hana Abri Smith.

about

Fold It In

This exhibition marks a point of realisation in my practice, where my visual art practice and love of traditional Irish Music collide. At the centre of both is a shared interest in observation and participation; the ways we watch, listen, absorb and respond to the worlds around us.

I explore memory, performance and constructed realities in my paintings. Working predominantly in oil, I use collage to organise and rearrange images, forming compositions that blend remembered experiences with imagined narratives. My paintings are rooted in the real but often skew towards the surreal, exploring the authenticity between the individual and the collective.

Previously, my creative practice felt isolating. Visual art has always been a constant in my life, something I naturally returned to, perhaps also as a way of retreating from others. Learning to play music as an adult changed how I understood my own process. There is a particular joy in allowing yourself to exist outside your comfort zone and becoming part of something that is constantly being formed collectively.

This experience has led me to look differently at how I gather imagery for my paintings. Last year, I began visiting dance companies to observe performances and rehearsals, and staging photoshoots with performers to generate source material. The work explores the spaces between watching and taking part, and the interactions that emerge when people create together.

Like a session, the exhibition is rooted in exchange. It brings together two parts of my creative life that I had previously understood as separate. I am interested in what happens when an experience that can only exist in the moment is translated into something physical, something that can be returned to, looked at and considered over time.

Bio:

Hana is a visual artist and musician living and working in Belfast. Hana’s first banjo is included in ‘A Feeling in the Blood’ Exhibition at The Mac, Belfast. She was recently awarded funding by ‘Help musicians’ as part of their Health and wellbeing scheme. Her work is on display in The Courthouse Gallery, Ennistymon, Co. Clare as part of their ‘Summer Open’ group exhibition. She has completely residencies with ‘Teac Damsa’ in Dingle, Kerry, and ‘Pichet Klunchun Dance Company’ in Bangkok, Thailand. Hana has exhibited extensively in Belfast at The Ulster Museum, University of aTypical, Rattlebag and in London at The Saatchi Gallery, Brick Lane Gallery and with Blue Shop Cottage. Hana Is a member of Vault Artist Studios and plays Banjo and Concertina with ‘Na Cailleacha’