[title not known] 1998

Curator: This intriguing image, by Paul Coldwell, part of the Tate Collections, presents us with rows of clothing racks. It’s an image that speaks to the sheer volume of production in the garment industry. Editor: It feels claustrophobic, almost haunting. The repetitive hanging garments evoke a sense of facelessness and uniformity. Curator: Exactly. The racks themselves suggest a system, a process. Coldwell highlights not just the finished product, but the infrastructure, the means through which clothing becomes so readily available. Editor: It also makes me think about what’s missing – the people who made them, the people who will wear them. All that unseen labor and future lives, condensed into these grey rows. Curator: So, in a sense, Coldwell uses the visual language of mass production to hint at the human stories behind the clothes we consume daily. Editor: Leaving us to ponder on the weight of those untold stories. A somber, but powerful reflection.