Artist Statement
 

As an artist, Laura Smith is disquieted by the conflicted relationship between humans, animals and technology. Through sculptural processes and digital media, she attempts to think beyond the human and opens new ways of thinking about animals. There is often an unspoken tension within her works that demands you to interpret and question her subjects. For example, Yerkish? is a video animation that explores interspecies communication. It plays with this idea that we can perhaps learn from another species and constructs the question: if chimps could speak what could they or would they say? Moreover, for her most recent project, Smith has constructed a motion following robotic crow from her household waste. The piece comprises a criticism of hyper-capitalist society, especially with respect to ecological issues. The iconography of these animals and the material, scale, and placement within a space are all interconnected and significant. Ultimately, Smith’s works are societal critiques with an undertone of optimism for a better world.