"My work is rooted in transformation. Drawing form a childhood shaped by the generational upbringing of my family through a cult, I use art to explore identity, power, and mythology. That upbringing was both spiritually intense and psychologically complex, leaving me with a deep desire to question authority, symbolism and the boundaries of belief from a very young age.

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I'm drawn to the fluidity of form, spirit, and self - how identity can shapeshift, mutate, and defy containment. I find inspiration in esoteric histories, pagan traditions, and ancient civilizations, such as Egypt, where gender was often depicted symbolically rather than biologically. This metaphysical approach to identity continues to shape my practice.

 

My figures are hybrid beings - horned, radiant, divine, and absurd. They draw influence from the 19th century illustration of Baphomet by Eliphas Levi, originally intended as a symbol of unity between opposites: light & dark, masculine & feminine, "As above, so below". These figures embody personal mythologies and ritual energies, reflecting a space where identity and power are not fixed, but constantly evolving.

 

Aesthetically, my work is informed by religious illustration, Master Renaissance compositions, and I am also deeply inspired by Hilma Af Klint whose paintings were not simply imagined, but channeled. I resonate with the idea that art can act as a conduit for something beyond the self.

 

Through bold color, graphic line, and a rejection of strict aesthetic definitions of what art should be, I create surreal narratives that embrace both the grotesque and the sacred, the righteous and the profane, because God encompasses both light and shadow."

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-Allison Anne Smith