Mickey Smith

Mickey Smith (b.1972 Minnesota, USA) is an award winning conceptual photographer based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.
 

Smith’s photography is a striking and poignant reflection of human history through her documentation of simple, provocative titles found on library shelves and second hand book stores around the world.

Smith’s work continuously explores the state of entropy within libraries, as we witness information systems shift, digitize and collections become deaccessioned. Her artworks explore the life cycle of publications and the dedicated labour of those who care for them. The artist’s playful capturing of words and scale transcend the spines on which they appear, to create conceptual, anthropological works, which document significant moments in time.

"By focusing on the minutiae of books and magazine stacks, and blowing them up, Smith heralds the benefits of an open mind and a democratic tradition.” – D. Abbot,  Art New Zealand

In 2022 Smith exhibited her TIME & AGAIN series with the European Cultural Centre at the Venice Biennale. In 2024 Smith presented her largest-to-date public exhibition at the Law Warschaw Gallery, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. The exhibition features acclaimed projects VOLUME, Denudation, and As You Will: Carnegie Libraries of the South Pacific and will travel through 2024 – 2025 to the Plains Art Museum in Fargo, North Dakota, USA, and the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.

Smith’s work has been included in numerous exhibitions throughout Aotearoa, the United States, China and Russia. Her works belong to numerous public and private collections, including the Museum of Modern Art Library, Sheldon Museum of Art and Weisman Art Museum. She has received grants and awards from the McKnight Foundation, CEC Arts Link, Americans for the Arts and Creative New Zealand.

The artist holds a BA in Photography from Minnesota State University, USA (1994) and a Diploma in Jewellery Design from Hungry Creek Art & Craft School, Aotearoa (2019).

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