Jill Smith

Jill Smith’s practice investigates material in relation to fragmented narrative, history, and identity. Working in sculpture and installation, she explores the archival properties and potential of materials and objects, with a particular focus on how they can embody memory and touch. Influenced by Donna Haraway’s notion of Speculative Fabulation, Smith approaches material processes as ways of imagining otherwise—inviting narratives that blur time, lineage, and boundaries. She carefully assembles and alters familiar materials and forms—often paradoxical—evoking a sense of tension between presence and absence, connection and distance. Grounded in identity and symbolism, Smith’s practice examines the archival limits of materials to reconnect, reimagine, or challenge gaps in inherited histories.

‍

Jill Smith (b. 1995) is a queer, Jewish multi-disciplinary artist based in Toronto. Smith holds an MFA from University of Waterloo (Waterloo, CA 2024) and a BFA (Honors Specialization in Studio Art) from Western University (London, CA 2017). Her work has been exhibited in Canadian spaces, including the University of Waterloo Art Gallery, Centre[3] for Artistic + Social Practice, Xpace Cultural Centre, and Forest City Gallery. Smith has participated in artist residencies including Gibraltar Point (Toronto, CA), AGA LAB (Amsterdam, NL), and Sparkbox Studio (Picton, CA), and has received scholarships and grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Canadian Graduate Scholarship, Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and Toronto Arts Council.