Counting people 2015

Editor: Here we have Rodrigo Franzao’s mixed-media relief sculpture, "Counting people," created in 2015. It presents what looks like endless rows of tiny, repetitive forms. There's almost a meditative quality to it, despite the hard materiality. What’s your take on this work? Curator: I'm struck by the potential for individual forms to constitute larger meaning. What might seem at first glance to be cold abstraction soon resonates as symbolic; the rows and lines possess memory and ritual. Editor: Can you elaborate on the symbolism? I’m intrigued by the title in relation to all these lines, evoking almost numeric gestures or tally marks. Curator: Consider how the act of "counting people" can move beyond mere inventory, signifying connection to community, ancestry, loss. Are these individuals represented by each mark, remembered or forgotten? Franzao’s reliance on repetitive marks evokes Paleolithic cave paintings; primitive yet complex accounting systems designed to represent human existence. What sort of narratives do you think it is expressing? Editor: So it's a subtle commentary about human connection within seemingly sterile abstraction? I see that, but it also appears very methodical, quite planned. Curator: Indeed, there’s intentionality in Franzao’s work. A duality, then? A tension between organic forms, yet rigorously structured? A memory both personal and public? What could those repetitive elements mean to you, from that angle? Editor: It gives a haunting feeling. Almost like mass graves or prisoner markings, but perhaps that’s my own bias seeping through. This piece truly prompts us to consider the meanings we assign to abstract form. Curator: Exactly! Perhaps we count not just numbers but our memories, ourselves. Each of us searches to leave some enduring trace. It's exciting how a modern piece can evoke such primitive sentiments!