In the 10th anniversary year of the infamous Abu Ghraib tortured prisoner image, Tim Shaw will exhibit his powerful sculpture installation Casting a Dark Democracy.

The piece is one of two large scale installations reworked for this major solo exhibition Black Smoke Rising, at Aberystwyth Art Centre fromOctober 4 to November 18.

Belfast born Shaw grapples with social and political realities; themes of ritual and conflict reoccur throughout his work, drawing from his formative years during the ‘Troubles’ and events across the world over centuries.

Monumental in scale, Casting a Dark Democracy dominates the gallery - 18 feet of constructed steel, barbed wire, and black polythene sit in a heavy, oily atmosphere, with a haunting beat and the underlying subtext of war and fear.

According to Shaw: ‘Casting a Dark Democracy relates more broadly to conflict through the ages. Ten years on, the image remains potent, as something that trawls just beneath the surface of the collective consciousness, revealing our inherent primitive instincts. Belonging to no particular age or place, it is reminiscent of something that could have been dug out of the earth from long ago. Barbaric and menacing in appearance, it also possesses a Christ-like vulnerability. Interestingly the photograph that is so iconic of the Iraq war transcends it and profoundly resonates with conflict across the Middle East right now.’

Completing the exhibition, Soul Snatcher Possession consists of eight larger than life-size figures, huddled menacingly, on the verge of a violent encounter. Only the perpetrators eerie smiles and brutal gestures imply the moment just before an unimaginable dreadful act is committed.

Shaw said: "It delves into the nature of the human psyche. There is an attempt to understand the nature of who we are through a process of reduction, a stripping down of the human condition to its primordial bare bones. I am interested in aspects of humanity that do not change.

"The need to shape and form material into something that expresses meaning and emotion is an instinctive one that fundamentally underpins my art practice. It is an activity that connects contemporary life with prehistoric existence. It mirrors the ideas and beliefs of humanity over thousands of years. This is something that I find profoundly moving and important."

Black Smoke Rising is curated by Indra Khanna and produced in partnership with mac birmingham and Aberystwyth Arts Centre. The exhibition is kindly supported by Arts Council England.

There will be a preview event 5.30pm to 8.30pm October 3. From 6.30pm - 7.30pm in the Cinema, Indra Khanna will talk to Tim Shaw about his career, and these and other works. This event is free and open to all, with refreshments.