Kiki Smith: Memory

A multipart installation on the island of Hydra exploring mythic themes of earth and sky

In 2019, multidisciplinary artist Kiki Smith (born 1954) was invited to present a site-specific project at the DESTE Foundation Project Space in Hydra, a former slaughterhouse perched on the edge of the sea. Drawing on maritime history, mythology, astronomy and site-specific anthropology, Smith combined naturalistic and fantastic elements into a multipiece composition that reflects the lived and imagined memory of both the slaughterhouse-a stage for sacrifices-and the Hydra region itself.

Alongside photographs of the installation and texts by Maggie Wright and Nadja Argyropoulou, Kiki Smith: Memory presents documentation of Smith's process for this project, which draws on a variety of mediums including sculpture, textiles and drawing.