The Burial of the Dead 1975

Curator: Right now, we're looking at Colin Lanceley's "The Burial of the Dead," housed here at the Tate. Editor: It’s dreamlike, isn’t it? Like stepping into a colourful, slightly unsettling myth. Are those mountains floating? Curator: Lanceley often incorporated literary references; this one riffs on T.S. Eliot’s poem. Look at the fragmented figures. Editor: The fractured forms seem to mirror Eliot's themes of post-war disillusionment. This art feels both playful and deeply serious. There is also a reference to Picasso. Curator: Lanceley was interested in how art responded to larger socio-political contexts, specifically how it can address trauma in society. Editor: For me, the power lies in its strange beauty; its ability to confront darkness with such unexpected, childlike wonder. Curator: I agree. It’s a powerful collision of the personal and the political, isn’t it?