Time Machine 6 2021

Curator: Welcome. We are standing before Joshua Flint's "Time Machine 6," completed in 2021 using acrylic paint. You’ll notice its engagement with both surrealism and realism. Editor: My first impression is a muted, slightly melancholic nostalgia. It feels like peering into a forgotten corner of childhood, or perhaps a dreamscape filtered through a worn lens. Curator: Yes, I find it interesting how Flint employs graffiti-art aesthetics within the confines of what could be read as a liminal space. Consider how the artist blends the interior space with elements suggestive of a forgotten or disused public sphere. It evokes reflections on societal spaces dedicated to childhood. Editor: The faceless figures contribute heavily to that feeling of abstracted memory, right? Almost like snapshots where the subjects’ identities have faded, leaving behind just the vague outlines of youthful forms. It's haunting, like encountering ghosts in a school hallway. Curator: Indeed. The lack of facial features renders them as archetypes rather than individuals, open for the viewer's projection and identification. It's compelling to examine how this piece plays into wider historical trends regarding depictions of youth and their place within social infrastructures. Editor: And the color palette definitely strengthens that sensation. Those washed-out tones and hints of orange kind of evoke decay but are contrasted by the colorful Mondrian-like grid on the left. It hints at organized thinking within the chaos of the space itself, don't you think? Curator: Precisely, it invites thoughts on themes such as time, loss, and the intersection of private and public spheres. "Time Machine 6" acts as a canvas for pondering how childhood innocence interacts with the often-unforgiving environment. It is more about what happened here, or could happen. Editor: The way Flint mixes that formal approach with this somewhat disquieting content creates an unsettling feeling, really gets you thinking about the fragility of our personal histories. Like a moment frozen in time, exposed in an unsafe place. Curator: A perfect final observation on a piece so adept at drawing forth personal interpretation through its historically informed, aesthetically considered composition. Editor: Exactly. I love when art makes me want to dream.