Vessel examines the invisible forms of labour embedded within social expectations, particularly those placed on women. The work considers how care, availability, and emotional support are often assumed rather than acknowledged, positioning the body as a site of unrecognised contribution.

Although titled Vessel, the sculpture resists literal functionality. With no opening or exit, it rejects the notion of endless capacity, proposing boundaries as both form and concept. The absence becomes a refusal: a structure that cannot be accessed, filled, or depleted.

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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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