Through painting, Julian Smith explores box displays as tableaux of Enlightenment knowledge and its deconstruction: the ‘cabinet of curiosities’, ‘the memory machine’, dioramas and Joseph Cornell’s boxes all combine interesting objects in a suggestive way. In these paintings, the hierarchy of objects is subverted through contexts that are fractured and disparate. Contents uses a collage-like process of sourcing various component images and objects and combining them to form the rudiments of a scene. These works investigate the language of representation—with photorealism and traditional illusionism attempting communication.

Julian Smith graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) at RMIT in 2003. He has since exhibited his work in several group and solo exhibitions throughout Victoria. His work deals directly with the language of representational painting and draws upon many varied techniques and media.