A l'échelle du désir/The scale of desire 1937

Editor: This is Wolfgang Paalen's "A l'échelle du désir," or "The Scale of Desire." It feels dreamlike, like a miniature stage for an unknown ritual. What draws your eye when you look at it? Curator: The spiral staircase motif, of course. Staircases often represent ascension, progress, or even spiritual awakening. But why bisect it? What does it mean to break this symbolic climb, and place a teardrop finial at the top? Editor: Perhaps a kind of broken hope? Curator: Possibly. Or perhaps a question about the very nature of desire. Paalen was interested in Surrealism. Do you see echoes of Freudian thought here? Editor: Definitely, it all feels very symbolic and open to interpretation. Curator: Precisely. It is a beautiful invitation into our own subconscious.