Norwich Being Bombed, 1942 2001

Editor: This is Colin Self’s "Norwich Being Bombed, 1942." It’s difficult to see when it was created but the Tate lists this work as a print on paper. It's such a chaotic and disturbing image. What social commentary do you think Self is trying to make? Curator: The title is extremely misleading, right? It wasn't created in 1942, but decades later. Self was actually born in Norwich in 1941, so the bombing was part of his lived experience as a child. What does it mean to revisit and represent such trauma later in life, especially given the rise of nuclear anxieties during the Cold War? Editor: So, you think he is using his personal history to comment on larger political concerns? Curator: Exactly. The swastikas are pretty clear, but the image also speaks to broader anxieties about state violence and the vulnerability of civilian populations, both then and in the present. Editor: I didn’t think about the impact of the Cold War on his work, that's very insightful. Thanks! Curator: It's vital to look at art in relation to the artist's life, historical context, and how it speaks to us today.