Despite being silent or off-stage for much of the play, Ophelia’s agency is crucial. The allure of the language she is given suggests her role is far more significant than any romanticised depiction of mental deterioration or ‘female hysteria’. For the artist, she has come to epitomise a kind of silencing. In her foiled attempts to be heard and in her fragmentary, stitched-together language, Smith sees a question: If languages are shaped by the cultures from which they evolve, how do you communicate if your experiences are not valued within that?

Contrasting powerfully, the brook represents a linear narrative, narrow and shallow and incapable of power or depth, whilst the willow, huge in scale with shifting foliage, is unpredictable, having the capacity to change direction. The willow, intersecting the brook obliquely, suggests a rejection of unthinking convention, ascribing importance instead to the consideration of counter-narratives.

A more nuanced interpretation of Ophelia combined with autobiographical elements became the catalyst for the painting False Steward (2019-20). Seen from the back, the figure appears isolated and potentially vulnerable. Like many of Smith’s paintings, this work is replete with details that elaborate and extend her complex and conceptual narratives. Here, peonies, tulips and roses embellish her Dior, Valentino and La Perla ensemble. Diamond shapes echo the Harlequin, an unreliable character from the Commedia dell’arte, who, by tapping his stick, controls the presentation of the narrative. Who is the False Steward? This unsettling note is echoed in the bleached-out harlequin beetles which nestle within the folds of her clothing.