Gravitas Profundis II 2000

Editor: This is Veronica Ryan's "Gravitas Profundis II" from the Tate collection. It presents four images, almost like stills from a memory. I'm struck by how the final image devolves into darkness. How do you interpret this progression? Curator: The repeated image of children, then its erasure, speaks to the selective nature of memory, doesn't it? Consider the title: 'deep gravity.' What images, what weights, are being submerged, and why? Perhaps the darkness embodies a buried trauma, a history struggling to be remembered or, conversely, intentionally obscured. Editor: That’s fascinating. So, the obscured image isn't necessarily about forgetting, but maybe about a conscious effort to bury something? Curator: Exactly. The repetition draws attention to what’s lost, suggesting a cultural or personal narrative actively being suppressed. What do you make of their placement? The original photo on the left and then obscured to the right? Editor: I see it going from order to chaos, a journey into a complex unknown. Thanks, I’ll definitely look at Ryan's work in a new light now.