Come Into Me 

Curator: This acrylic painting by Dave Macdowell, entitled "Come Into Me," immediately strikes me with its stark juxtaposition. What are your initial impressions? Editor: A touch unnerving, I must say. The faces seem to be peeling away, revealing something… quite visceral beneath. There’s an unsettling sense of fragmentation and transformation at play here. Curator: Indeed. The artist is toying with realism, but clearly distorting and disrupting it. Notice the meticulous brushwork used to render the faces; their realistic nature juxtaposes the surreal layering effect of one peeling away to expose another. What do you make of this layering? Editor: One can read it as a representation of the multiple selves that exist within a single individual. Each layer could symbolize a different stage of life, or perhaps the masks we wear in public versus our private realities. This speaks to a modern alienation. Curator: Perhaps. Or perhaps there's commentary about contemporary beauty standards and how we are inundated with idealized images. The artist might be implying these standards only act as masks, concealing deeper insecurities. I'm also curious about the title "Come Into Me" and if it alludes to a kind of invitation for others to accept all that lies beneath those surfaces. Editor: I do not doubt it. There’s a historical precedent for this kind of allegorical representation of identity. Think of the grotesque masks that satire political figures or religious dogma; Macdowell offers us this same grotesque but internalised. In this perspective, the layering isn’t only personal but could reflect how outside influences change us on a personal level. Curator: Precisely. And notice the bold colour palette? Although grounded with darker blues and greys, the hues give off a sinister airiness, especially towards the ghoulish figure underneath, thereby highlighting the uncanny feeling that transformation—or even aging—leaves us with when examining ourselves too closely. Editor: The artwork’s cultural position can also inform us; it emerged during a period increasingly preoccupied with anxieties around self-image, performance, and representation in our everyday world, thus becoming almost like a visual manifest of such tensions and modern day terrors. Curator: Agreed. It’s a compelling, if unsettling, portrait that urges us to ponder about authenticity and perhaps accept even the darkest facets of our true selves. Editor: Ultimately, the brilliance lies in its capacity to provoke discourse on the ever-relevant themes of identity and societal pressures in our contemporary society.