Solitude 

Curator: Here we have an oil painting, a portrait of a Zebra, entitled "Solitude" by Lucia Heffernan. What’s your initial take? Editor: The somber tones against that intense darkness are immediately striking. There's a certain loneliness or quiet introspection in the animal's gaze that really resonates. Curator: Absolutely. Consider the zebra, historically and culturally. It’s a symbol of the exotic, often confined to zoos or seen as part of a distant “wild.” Here, isolating it in the black, perhaps reflects our own alienation. Editor: The symbolic weight of captivity and display... yes, fascinating. In a way, its image has become almost banal due to over-reproduction. What do you see in its eyes? The heavy contrast feels almost cinematic. Curator: To me, that eye holds layers. Beyond immediate emotion, it evokes the enduring human-animal connection, going back millennia in art and myth. But I also notice what isn't there, the broader habitat, its herd—the solitude is poignant. Editor: I am drawn to that tension between realistic rendering and slightly abstract shadows, questioning how our zoos impact the global environment. I do sense this piece leans heavily into a modern understanding of the ‘other’ – the animal now carrying human anxieties. Curator: Do you find the composition supports that, with such tight focus? We’re forced into an intimate confrontation. Editor: Exactly. We’re robbed of the typical picturesque narrative, of zebras frolicking under an acacia tree. That feels deliberate, redirecting our gaze inward. And doesn't that tell us something about the current landscape of painting and its social impact? Curator: Yes, art forcing confrontation, rather than just comforting viewing, does tell an evocative truth about contemporary society, the relationship between environment and display, nature and alienation, with art's capacity for change as a kind of ethical challenge. Editor: An oil-painting animal portrait of our troubled human self... not what I expected today. The darkness really does speak volumes here. Curator: Indeed. This Solitude might just reflect something universal about our current state of things, inviting further exploration.