Untitled 

Editor: So, this is an untitled mixed-media piece by Derek Boshier. It’s a vibrant collage that just leaps out at you – a clash of pinks, oranges, blues… It’s almost like a deconstructed magazine page, all about relationships, or how society views them, perhaps? What do you make of it? Curator: Oh, isn’t it a marvel? The audacity of clashing colors and appropriated imagery! It feels like a visual scream against societal norms, doesn’t it? It smacks of Pop Art rebellion with a hefty dose of queer visibility, which is a delight. Does the piece seem fragmented to you? Editor: Absolutely fragmented, almost jarring. The halves don't seem to speak to each other at first. But you’re right; queer visibility. It’s right there with the "Lesbian Almanac." I’m just not sure how it works with everything else, for example with what looks like some rather offensive erotic drawings. Curator: Consider Boshier’s era and the art world’s growing consciousness, a move away from the art of the fathers and the start of something entirely new.. He throws everything into the mix – the tender and the troubling. It’s all out there, isn’t it? A collage of contradictions reflects a world wrestling with its own prejudices and desires. Do you see anything familiar in its visual language? Editor: Now that you mention it, there’s a definite comic book aesthetic… the bold lines, flat colors, and speech bubbles, but it's like he’s hijacking that language to talk about something much more profound, darker. Curator: Exactly! The familiarity lures you in, then WHAM! – the subject matter hits you. A sly, subversive tactic. These echoes and contrasts create such a dialogue in the viewer's eye. He does not shy away from uncomfortable topics, quite to the contrary. It is almost designed to challenge us to think! Editor: That's fascinating. I went in seeing just clashing images, and now I see the clashes are the point! I’ll definitely look closer at Boshier's other work now. Curator: Marvelous! See, that’s the power of art, isn’t it? To nudge us towards new ways of seeing. Now, tell me, what will you be looking for as you go forward in your explorations?