Exquisite Corpse 2000

Curator: Alright, let's talk about this Exquisite Corpse by Jake Chapman. It's a striking etching, small in scale, held in the Tate Collections. What jumps out at you? Editor: Well, it’s unsettling, isn't it? That bizarre, almost insectoid creature with the tangle of limbs and the… is that a foetus in its torso? It feels like a fever dream. Curator: Chapman's work often engages with the grotesque, challenging conventional notions of beauty and decorum. The title itself alludes to a surrealist game, suggesting a collaborative and somewhat chaotic creation. Editor: Right. So, it's playing with ideas of hybridity and the abject. I wonder how this piece was received critically. It feels like a direct confrontation of social norms. Curator: I think that’s a fair assessment. Chapman consistently used imagery to provoke discourse about institutional power. Editor: It certainly stuck with me. Curator: It is hard to forget. Thanks for your insight.