Art & Deformation

Kiki Smith

KiKi Smith is an American artist from New York who began sculpting in the late 1970s. Her art focuses on the body yet permeates political significance, for although associated with feminism she is also known to accentuate issues such as aids, race and violence within her work.
Exposing the inner biological system as a depiction of concealed social issues, Smith’s earlier works explored the body's forms and functions whilst focusing on concepts such as birth, regeneration, and sustenance that are reoccurring motifs in her art.

"Born"2002

Kiki's bronze sculpture "Born" moves beyond the body to address the issue of man versus nature and the conjecture of regeneration. As the dear traditionally represents renewal and rebirth in some European cultures, contemporary society find the work confronting and unnatural. The classical material of bronze juxtaposed with the subject, a representation of a small deer giving birth to a life size women generates and exacerbates expectations.

“Getting the bird out” is another bronze sculpture that generated from a dream Kiki had about mouth emissions. The severed head is a replica of the artists that has been diminished two sizes smaller. A rope is attached from a bronze bird corpse to the mouth of the head. The concept behind the work is that of restoration of the soul and spirits inhabiting the body.

Untitled 1988 is a photograph taken by Smith before she broke into sculpture. The image of a woman biting her arm in an attempt of self mutilation is equally compelling as it is shocking. The use of lighting within the piece contrasts the subject as the soft blues and deep shadows give an ethereal feel, adding to the dual aspects of vulnerability and strength.

The deformation of the body is both compelling and confronting, when Kiki was asked why she based her art on the human body she replied
“I chose it as a subject because it’s the one thing we all share.”