Varför delad så? 2003

Curator: Here we have Rune Jansson's 2003 piece, "Varför delad så?" Editor: My first thought? That's brave. It’s almost painfully simple – a single orange line bisecting a white canvas. Very sparse, very quiet. Curator: Indeed. The title, which translates to "Why so divided?", suggests we look for meaning in that stark division. The line itself, slightly wavering, calls to mind a horizon, or perhaps a boundary. Symbolically, divisions evoke separation, but also the possibility of connection. Think of it: above and below, consciousness and subconsciousness, the known and the unknown. Editor: I am struck by the application. Look closely: you can almost trace the artist’s hand. It isn’t machine-made; there are imperfections. Was this about efficiency of gesture, the unmediated action of the line? The materiality hints at something immediate and perhaps performative. Curator: Perhaps, although I suspect that imperfection invites a reading centered around fragility or imperfection of our own divides. Nothing is ever truly, cleanly separated, is it? And orange--the line's chromatic presence asserts itself boldly against that blank background. A vibrant choice to underscore, well, a fraught sentiment. It challenges us. Why are *we* divided? What separates *us*? Editor: I'd bet that the choice of orange also ties to availability. What was at hand in the studio that day? How does the local colour available inflect Jansson's work here? It really gives that question—*why so divided*—a strong resonance, in the economic sense. Why here, why this. Curator: It also resonates with a long cultural association, tracing a fine line across ages. So, with that dividing horizon set before us. Where shall we meet it, I wonder? Editor: For me, it's about engaging that very direct materiality. It compels me to reflect on not only the separation in image, but separation of labour that produces our works of art.