‘Out of Order’ by Shannon Smiley captures the beauty in unkept urban environments where nature creates its own path among sprawling suburban and city landscapes. These paintings are picturesque impressions of lush overgrown vegetation, rocky creek beds, dense foliage and undergrowth, which shine a light on the magnificence of the natural world. The artist often connects these untamed habitats to human existence with the hint of a fence or building in the background, bricks or concrete.
‘I don’t want to do pretty, I want to do every day, an almost pathetic type of thing and uphold it.’ – Shannon Smiley, 2017
Shannon Smiley, Thicket, 2017, oil on linen, 92 x 122cm. Courtesy the artist, Hill Smith Gallery, Adelaide and The Gallery @ Bayside Arts & Cultural Centre, Melbourne
The Gallery @ Bayside Arts & Cultural Centre
Until 17 December, 2017
Melbourne
