Group of Figures, Gadshill 1862

Editor: This pencil drawing, titled "Group of Figures, Gadshill" by David Roberts, dates back to 1862. There's something quite nonchalant about the way these figures are rendered, almost as if they are paused mid-conversation, but we can only see their backs. It makes you wonder what they're looking at, and what they're talking about, and how significant that empty space in the middle is. What captures your attention when you look at this work? Curator: It's that 'negative space' you mention that first draws my eye, actually. In my mind, the sketchiness isn't about the incompleteness of the figures. Instead it becomes an intentional compositional element. A lot is suggested but nothing overly declared. There is enough to imagine our own narratives to insert. Think of it like this: the void asks us to look within. I wonder who they are though; their style indicates certain things... Have you noticed their hats? Editor: You’re right. There's the man with the top hat. I am sure there is some Victorian context here. Curator: Victorian society loved this kind of image. Here are well-to-do folk. No doubt, if we investigate Gadshill in Kent during this time, then stories are there to find! In some ways, they're stand-ins for us, prompting us to look and to dream! We gaze on what might be, with these men as co-conspirators in our wonder! Is the magic growing now for you? Editor: I hadn't considered that we become complicit, somehow involved. I like that perspective; it invites a whole new layer to it, like finding a secret in plain sight. Curator: Absolutely. Perhaps it teaches us the real skill, lies in knowing what is needed, and more interestingly… what is best left unsaid.