Nightmare 2020

Curator: Salman Toor's painting from 2020, titled "Nightmare", certainly grabs the eye with its disquieting composition and subdued palette. Editor: My first impression is one of unease, frankly. The muted green and ochre tones lend it a sickly quality, and the figures seem caught between life and death. The artist's choice of these drab, somewhat bilious colors makes you think of decay or disease. Curator: Indeed, the palette does contribute to the unsettling atmosphere. Note also the underpainting visible in areas, and the artist's loose brushstrokes which enhance the dreamlike and, yes, nightmarish quality. The symbolism here speaks volumes. Consider the prone figure—is it a representation of vulnerability, perhaps? Editor: It's definitely evocative, and it makes you want to think and understand the image. I am captivated by how that kneeling man relates to the prostrate one and what is on the floor next to the naked person. Those symbolic aspects are crucial to understanding what message Toor wanted to convey. Curator: The standing figures looming above may represent guilt, bystanders, or perhaps even the oppressors in this unfolding drama. I see connections to historical depictions of martyrdom, but also a more contemporary feel with suggestions of isolation. The fact that only some figures cast shadows reinforces that impression of disjointedness. Editor: It also strikes me that they have elongated hands. The man in the shirt with a grid pattern in dark gray has oversized extremities in an apparent depiction of a powerlessness theme, or even fear, when confronted with some greater, incomprehensible danger, a recurring image in modern nightmares. Curator: "Nightmare" explores a kind of helplessness, capturing that feeling we have when faced with impossible odds, making this artwork a potent commentary. Editor: Definitely powerful! Toor's painting forces us to confront some hard questions, visually. And in these past years we seem to get those types of dreams constantly.