Posy 2014

Curator: Soey Milk’s drawing, "Posy," completed in 2014, immediately pulls us into a dialogue between contemporary portraiture and delicate figuration. Crafted with pencil, it’s a testament to the enduring power of simple mediums to convey complex narratives. Editor: Wow. It gives me this quiet, melancholic vibe. Like she’s waiting, or remembering something. The red scarf or ribbon draws your eye in, such a vivid splash against all the pale shading. And the gaze is really interesting too. Curator: The positioning of the subject within the composition evokes specific historical contexts, bringing to mind academic traditions of portraiture as well as potentially hinting at the male gaze and how women’s bodies have historically been represented. Note how her downcast eyes seem to resist that objectification, instead asserting her own interiority. Editor: Yeah, it’s like she’s present but also somewhere else entirely. I also love how sketchy it is; it’s so confident. Like the artist captured a fleeting moment and then decided, “Yep, that’s it”. What is she holding in her hands? Curator: What I find fascinating is how Milk uses figuration to explore themes of identity, particularly womanhood, and representation. She’s holding a medallion or a tiny circular mirror in her fingers. You could examine this detail through the lens of feminist theory, asking whether the woman has chosen to engage with the traditional idea of female self-inspection, or, perhaps she’s choosing not to. Editor: It feels like an old photograph come to life. I could stare at this for hours and feel so much just based on line work and shading alone, I swear. Maybe the medallion has something to do with it? Or maybe it just looks pretty there. Curator: Ultimately, I think, this is where the real beauty of art lies. The subject doesn't need to fully realize self-awareness; she, and indeed the drawing itself, prompts conversation on intersectionality in a way that moves far beyond a fixed and one-dimensional narrative of identity. Editor: Well, I am left feeling curious and reflective. Not a bad way to spend a couple of minutes.