Yasmin Smith’s largest exhibition to date reveals the histories embedded in the landscape.

The Manchester Ship Canal, Sydney Harbour and the waters of the Seine reveal their hidden histories in Yasmin Smith: Elemental life, a new exhibition opening today at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA Australia).

Yasmin Smith: Elemental life is the most significant exhibition to date for Australian artist Yasmin Smith (b.1984, Dharug Country/Sydney), which runs until Monday 8 June 2026. The exhibition brings together new and recent ceramic sculptures and sculptural installations that considers the deep connections between human and environmental histories.

Smith is known for her ambitious installations, composed of ceramic sculptures and created through a combination of field research, community collaboration and technical experimentation. Since 2014, Smith has developed a growing archive of site-specific glazes made by burning plant and mineral materials. These glazes serve as chemical records of place, offering what Smith describes as an 'alternative knowledge system' for understanding landscapes.

Her work is an invitation to reflect on how we engage with the natural world and how the history of the land is evident in natural materials.

As Smith notes, ‘I think it’s important to see there are other living things on this planet that have the ability to communicate information, the ability to absorb things and retain reservoirs of history. We can learn something that might help us be more closely connected to the Earth.’