[6] Having an indigenous mother and a white father stirred an interest in King-Smith to explore in her photography issues concerning cultural discord.
In 1986, King-Smith completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts, majoring in Photography, at Victoria College in Melbourne.
[13] This new turn in the project repositioned Aboriginal people to be seen in a more positive light and in a spiritual and living domain.
[5] In 1998, King-Smith was selected for inclusion in the exhibition In the Realm of Phantoms – Photographs of the Invisible at the Museum Abteiberg, Mönchengladbach, Germany.
In 1997 and 1999 she was also selected for inclusion in the exhibitions Metamorphosis and Beyond Myth - Oltre il Mito, part of the Venice Biennales.
[attribution needed] King-Smith has an extensive career as a photo and digital media artist, encompassing solo, collaborative and group exhibitions, community engagement, dance performances, theatre productions, international cultural exchanges, book covers, story illustration and experimental film & video work.