Shanidar draws inspiration from the documentary Secrets of the Neanderthals (2024) and the discovery of one of the earliest known burial sites in Shanidar Cave, northern Iraq. The work reflects on this moment as a possible origin of ritual, empathy, and collective care within human history.

Referencing the burial practices associated with the site, Smith considers how Neanderthals have historically been positioned as primitive or emotionally limited, despite evidence suggesting complex social and symbolic behaviour. The sculpture becomes a reflection on how societies continue to construct and judge the “other” through narrative and perception.

The work also draws on the children’s game Chinese Whispers, considering how meaning shifts through repetition and retelling. In this way, history is understood not as fixed truth, but as something continually reshaped over time.

Through this lens, Shanidar questions contemporary assumptions of progress and evolution, reflecting on what it truly means to be human.