Douglas Smith: "Catharsis"

Aristotle described "Katharsis" as an experience through purging; believing that dramatized tragedy in theatre and the arts is therapeutic for a public audience. Some modern catharsis theorists controversially propose that simulated violence may do the same. Smith's exhibition of drawings considers these concepts as points of departure, advocating for neither wholly. Through hybrid narratives, Smith explores the idea of visual spectacle and cathartic ruminations, weaving ideas of human migration and the precariousness of our social and ecological environment. In a diagrammatic language of his own device, Catharsis attempts to infer the realm of an invented trans-nation collective psyche.

Douglas Smith was educated at the University of Manitoba in the Fine Arts Diploma Program. Originally a sculptor, his practice now focuses on a large-scale ongoing drawing project.