Physical Bodies brings together Lydia Smith and poet Sha Weï in an exploration of human representation. Responding to Weï’s poem Let’s Be Human, the works reflect on how cultural, social, and personal frameworks shape the way the human form is perceived and depicted.

Moving beyond surface distinctions, Smith turns toward biological structures that exist beneath surface identity. References to cellular forms and DNA introduce a visual language rooted in shared physical origin, proposing a point of connection that precedes culture, language, and experience.

Across the works, difference is neither erased nor resolved. Instead, the collaboration considers how individuality and commonality coexist, allowing the molecular foundations of the body to act as a quiet counterpoint to the divisions imposed by representation.

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Each of Smith’s sculptures is accompanied by an editioned print that functions as its “DNA blueprint”, generated through the artist’s sculpting and scanning process. Printed as a fine art Giclée on Hahnemühle Photo Rag, one of the most archival papers available, the print operates both as documentation and as an independent artwork, preserving the sculpture’s essence in two-dimensional form.

For Smith, the print is an essential extension of the sculpture. Through digital processing, the form moves between dimensions, existing as both physical presence and flattened image. This pairing reflects her ongoing inquiry into how identity now operates across physical and digital realms, where presence is increasingly distributed, and a digital counterpart has become integral to how objects and individuals are seen and understood.

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