Smith blends papermaking and painting in works produced in collaboration with Dieu Donné, the Brooklyn-based paper studio. Extending his recurring floral gardens, the compositions incorporate borders, fences, and barriers—formal and psychological devices that register their architectural and emotional weight. Through hand-applied, silkscreened linen pulp pigment on a cotton base sheet, Smith translates his painterly vocabulary into a distinct material language that foregrounds the tactile presence of paper. Dyed, blended paper fibres mixed with water are applied directly onto the surface, building textured images through small, deliberate gestures of colour. As the works dry, these organic forms become physically integrated with the base, resulting in vibrant, seamless compositions that emphasise materiality and surface.
Smith’s practise examines post-diasporic identity, community, and cultural memory across painting and photography. His work situates subjective experience and personal history within a broader visual archive, challenging conventional modes of photographic documentation.
Lands Abroad, the artist’s first solo exhibition in the UK, is on view at Timothy Taylor through 28 February.
