Label
Farrell-Smith's practice is rooted in Indigenous aesthetics and abstract formalism. Talon is part of her Land Back series. Combined, these marks are layers that reflect colonizers violence on Indigenous lands, offering a path for transformation.Label
The Land Back series is filled with haunting images that evoke memories of her lived experience walking through her Klamath homelands, a site rife with conflict, past and present. Shadows of the detritus left behind, combined with pigments (wild harvested pigments) drawn from the land create complex visual meditations. Her deep commitment to advocacy and activism for Klamath land and water rights, as well as broader social and environmental issues, are embodied in this vivid series.Label
Talon is part o the LA series, 2019-2021. Land back series consists of
twenty-seven abstract paintings. The paintings created at my studio consist of wild
harvested pigments from Klamath lands and aerosol stencils of metal detritus found on
the ranch land at Modoc Point Studio. I collect detritus from the land: shot up cans, old
ranch equipment, parts of machinery, barbed wire, grids, bullets. I take these objects
and use them as stencils in my paintings. Combined, these marks with harvested wild
pigments constitute layers that bridge contemplation of colonizers violence and
trauma, offering a matrix for resiliency and transformation of perception and memory.
Formally, the twenty seven works examine improvisational composition and abstract
exploration.
Ka'ila Farrell-Smith is a contemporary Klamath Modoc visual artist, writer and activist
based in Modoc Point, Oregon. The conceptual framework of her practice focuses on
channeling research through a creative flow of experimentation and artistic playfulness
rooted in Indigenous aesthetics and abstract formalism. Utilizing painting and
traditional Indigenous art practices, her work explores space in-between the
Indigenous and western paradigms. Ka'ila displays work in the form of paintings,
objects, and self-curated installations.