Sample of Armour Plate c. 1868

Editor: This intriguing piece, titled "Sample of Armour Plate" by Charles Camell & Co. Ltd, dates back to around 1868. The rough texture of the metal is just fascinating; it gives off such a primordial feeling, like something unearthed from the earth's crust. What do you see when you look at this? Curator: I see a fragment pregnant with history, Editor. This isn’t merely metal; it’s a reliquary of 19th-century anxieties surrounding industrial warfare. Note the juxtaposition of smooth, uniform surfaces against jagged, almost volcanic eruptions of metal. Editor: Volcanic! I love that. What does it symbolize to you? Curator: I believe it echoes the psychological and societal shifts during the industrial revolution. On the one hand, the drive for progress and technological innovation is represented in the refined surfaces of this fragment, that represents strength, right? On the other, there’s a visual representation of destruction and uncontrolled power… the unpredictability and chaos war and these types of power brought to daily life, which is visualized in the rough parts. What emotions does that rough part stir in you? Editor: Unease, definitely, it gives a sense of brute force and something uncontrollable. Is that intentional? Curator: It invites us to remember and reconsider a collective history. This work prompts us to remember the physical and psychic weight those advancements had, the balance between protection and immense destructive power. Do you think there’s something comforting about looking at this, considering our place today? Editor: I think there is, it makes me aware that even now, art acts as a timeless echo to the concerns of a certain point in time. This piece has such symbolic strength that invites us to consider the nature of both construction and destruction.