Smart Barnett

Smart gets excited, you get excited too. Dirty pictures used to be something that blew around on building sites or were hidden away under an uncle’s bed. Now, this imagery is everywhere. Smart’s work draws inspiration from online dating and web/screen based intimacy, exploring how these cultures have expanded the range and familiarity of erotic imagery.

The ease with which we can now view and share explicit imagery fascinates him. We reveal ourselves online, yet at the same time we conceal so much. Hiding behind usernames, screens, photo filters and masks. We create and watch pornography, talking to complete strangers, sharing our intimate secrets.

As Smart’s creative practice develops he is starting to question his own exhibitionist tendencies, obsessions and trauma.

His work sits at the intersection of textiles and digital art, embracing both the traditional and the new. Embroidery is at the core of his practice and in this safe, normative space Smart wants to create pieces that are bold and provocative yet personal and intimate in their dimensions.

Smart's third solo show was in August 2023 and he is a part of the Manchester based ‘Friends of Dorothy’ creatives. Smart's 'Toile du Boys '23' collection is now stocked in the iconic Tom of Finland store, a global brand - based in West Hollywood.

He continues to exhibit, and work on commissions internationally.