Bird

Images and sculptures of birds, specifically dead birds, have appeared in Smith’s oeuvre since the early 1990s. Throughout childhood, Smith lived with birds and, at one point, kept several dozen in her home. In her work, birds serve as potent symbols, laden with religious significance. Smith writes that birds are “stand-ins for souls,” referring to the Catholic conception of the Holy Spirit. For Smith, birds connote fragility, and their delicate existence symbolizes the ephemerality of nature and the mortality of all living things. Smith turns this corpse into a mini monument by casting it in bronze.