Debbie Smith-Shank - Painter

Artist Statement

My artwork investigates how landscapes, seascapes, and everyday objects – both real and imagined – shape our understanding of place, identity, and belonging. I am drawn to the ways objects and environments become visual narratives, carrying cultural assumptions, emotional resonances, and shared memories. Through mixed media and layered visual processes, I explore how images circulate through our collective consciousness, informing how we see ourselves in relation to the world.

Guided by visual culture studies, feminist theory, and critical pedagogy, I consider landscapes and seascapes as more than scenery; they are active sites of meaning-making. By recontextualizing familiar vistas, juxtaposing found imagery, and disrupting traditional spatial expectation, I invite viewers to reconsider their sense of place.

Ultimately my practice encourages a reflective form of looking – one that acknowledges the cultural forces embedded in even the most seemingly tranquil views of land and sea. Through this work I create spaces where we can encounter images that reveal as much about us as they do about the world they depict.