The Last Bound Sheaf. 2016

Solo exhibition Wasps Studios, Hanson St, Glasgow 

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“Th’ abstract of poison in a stinking weed”

Daniel Defoe.

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‘The Last Bound Sheaf’ is a site-responsive exhibition at Wasps Studios, Hanson Street, which was originally built as a factory for Imperial Tobacco in the 1950s.  The surrounding area of Alexander parade was once known as Tobacco Road. 2016 marks the ten year anniversary of the Smoking, Health and Social Care Act (Scotland) banning smoking in enclosed public spaces, and sees the introduction of new laws and restrictions on the sale and display of tobacco products. Smith makes use of this occasion to explore the complicated relationship the people of Glasgow had and have with the tobacco plant.

This non-native plant is an invasive species in urban lives through its use. It was or is a source of livelihood, social ritual, pleasure, addiction, and poison. Smith has spoken with ex workers, communities and ‘stop smoking’ specialists in Glasgow to discover the experiences and changing attitudes of local people to the product.  Tobacco’s ubiquitous presence manifests as a history of control, with humanity and plant struggling for power; mans attempt to harness the potency of the weed, or to free themselves from the dominion it holds over them.​​​

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In the final act to end the project The Last Bound Sheaf, the tobacco dollies were burned like their cailleach corn dolly counterparts in a sympathetic magic ritual.