Adaptable (red/blue) 2008

Gemma Smith’s ‘Adaptable’ series comprises double-sided paintings that can be transformed from flat, monochromatic surfaces into sculptural forms. They are fabricated from two painted sheets of plywood with a fabric interlayer and incised with a network of lines. While their construction in the studio is carefully planned, the works’ final compositions are not fixed – they can be reconfigured each time they are displayed. While the ‘Adaptable’ is a device that expands the notion of what constitutes a painting, it also draws from the history of sculpture, particularly Lygia Clark’s participatory ‘Bicho’ series of the 1960s, which challenged the idea that a sculpture must be a static shape.