Bicameral Mind 2016

Editor: Okay, so here we have Michael Hafftka's "Bicameral Mind," created in 2016 using mixed media. It’s a pretty intense piece. Those layers of paint, almost sculpted onto the canvas...it feels restless, a little unsettling even. What do you make of it? Curator: Unsettling is a good word for it. The "Bicameral Mind"... well, that title alone pulls me into a specific headspace. Are we seeing two distinct halves struggling for dominance here? Perhaps a raw depiction of internal conflict externalized? I wonder… Look at the frantic energy of those lines, the impasto texture… almost like a psychic battleground. Editor: It really does feel like a struggle! I'm also noticing the repeated hand motifs. They seem almost desperate, reaching out. Is that related to the internal conflict, you think? Curator: Absolutely! Think of those hands as pleas, demands, perhaps echoes of a forgotten language trying to resurface from the depths of the subconscious. The title hints at an older theory of consciousness, where one part of the brain "spoke" and the other "obeyed." Now, the question becomes, which "self" are we seeing depicted on either side? And does the bespectacled creature act as any sort of interpreter in this drama? Editor: Wow, I hadn't even considered the glasses. Now, that's interesting. Almost like someone trying to observe this internal chaos objectively. So much to unpack, a visual representation of fragmented consciousness trying to make sense of the internal chatter. Curator: Precisely! And perhaps, by engaging with a piece like this, we too, are invited to confront the fragmented aspects within ourselves. Makes you wonder doesn't it... are we ever really just *one* self? Editor: It definitely does. Thanks; now I have even more to ponder. Curator: My pleasure; the best art always leaves you with more questions than answers.