Untitled 

Curator: This striking ink drawing, simply titled "Untitled," is by the hand of Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes. There's an undeniably dreamlike quality to the entire composition. Editor: Yes, the first word that pops into my mind is 'unease'. A sort of naive Eden populated by strange linework figures; almost a mocking gesture cast on the conventional themes. Curator: Note how Ribemont-Dessaignes employs a distinct style of figuration in the nude forms, emphasizing line and contour to give the figures definition. Observe the geometry throughout; from the lines of the landscape, up through the form of the apple tree to the right. Editor: And isn’t that a playful serpent, more like a cuddly toy entwined around the woman's legs than a harbinger of doom? Is she aware it’s there? There's this detached almost passive emotional current beneath it all. Curator: Symbolism plays a major part, of course. While we lack details about its creation, we might surmise links to surrealist thought... and the temptation by serpent could be seen as an assertion of life instincts over rigid control, of vital expression over logical control. Editor: It reads like a story without words. The serpent and the woman, a man in a tree… Are they acting? Performing? It is difficult to look away from the flatness and artificiality and the deliberate and obvious staging of each symbolic object. Curator: Precisely. Through careful composition and rendering of its stark line work, a narrative unfolds…perhaps about lost innocence and self discovery. I sense a tension, as well a peculiar sense of freedom that he brilliantly transmits through this drawing. Editor: It’s as if Ribemont-Dessaignes challenges us to reimagine the foundational stories; perhaps suggesting they were always a bit bizarre if you peeled away the moral coating. A rather cynical outlook. But hey, that's half the fun isn't it?