[title not known] 1972

Curator: This intriguing abstract composition is by Esq Tom Phillips, currently held in the Tate Collections. Its date remains unknown. Editor: It feels… contained. The stark contrast and tight frame give it a sense of concentrated energy, almost vibrating. It's such a small image. Curator: Indeed, the image area measures just 51 by 51 millimeters. Looking closely, I perceive shapes reminiscent of a human figure emerging from the darkness, symbols laden with psychological weight. Editor: I'm struck by the means of production, though. Those textures suggest a relief printmaking technique, perhaps a woodcut or linocut. The labor involved in carving away at the material to create this image is fascinating. Curator: And the use of black and white intensifies the symbolic interplay of light and shadow. What does this represent about how the artist sees the world? Editor: Well, the intense blacks suggest a dense, possibly discarded material from which the image emerges. Waste, perhaps, transformed by Phillips's craft. Curator: A dense, perhaps discarded material... an idea that stays with me. Editor: For me, too. It makes one ponder the alchemical possibilities inherent in artistic labor.