Artists and their materials face different pressures, but how much can they take before they break - or transform?
Adelaide's biennial showcase of contemporary art is titled Yield Strength, and looks at how artists push their materials to the limit.
It's been put together by Ellie Buttrose, who curated Archie Moore's Golden Lion winning exhibit at the Venice Biennale in 2024.
Through dozens of studio visits, she noticed artists returning to a focus on the limits of their materials.
"It's almost a return to the basic fundamentals of how do you put together materials, and putting them in space and form," she said.
"Is it because life online has reached its peak, and so it's also about the joy of what is it to make art?"
The exhibition also worked as a metaphor for pressures on art institutions, said Buttrose, and for the forces shaping individuals and society.
The biennial has been going since 1990, making it the nation's longest-running survey of contemporary art.
It's on display across the Art Gallery of South Australia, the Samstag Museum of Art and Adelaide Botanic Garden, with the work of 24 leading artists on show.
Drawing on prosthetic makeup techniques, Nathan Beard has created hyper-realistic sculptures of his hands and feet, stretched to the limit.
His elongated limbs are clutching symbols of his Thai culture, such as durian fruits, pink orchids and 3D-printed Buddhas.
Pocket Money, a video artwork by Emmaline Zanelli, shows young adults from in and around Adelaide working in their first jobs, spending money, and showing off their hobbies.
From card tricks to pro wrestling, jobs at Red Rooster and babysitting, it's a diverse picture of teens becoming wage earners and consumers.
"There's joy in it, but there's also a sense of it being a bit of a life sentence," said Zanelli.
"You start working, but you don't necessarily stop."
Australia's Venice Biennale Golden Lion winner Archie Moore has cast a series of objects in gold for the installation Remnants Of My Father, including an anatomical heart.
The biennial kicks off as Australia's 2026 Venice Biennale team has revealed Khaled Sabsabi will exhibit in the main Venice exhibition as well as the national pavilion, an honour afforded to very few artists.
Buttrose says she's thrilled.
"I've known Khaled for a long time and I think he's a incredible artist. I'm so happy to see him in the pavilion and the main exhibition. It's quite the coup."
Yield Strength is on display from February 27 to June 8 as part of the 2026 Adelaide Festival.
* AAP travelled with the assistance of event organisers.
Australian Associated Press