Slate Flour 

Curator: Initially, the severe, almost clinical presentation of "Slate Flour" strikes me. It's like a relic of a bygone industrial era. Editor: Indeed. Here we have a manufactured pigment, bottled and labeled by C.K. Williams & Co. It speaks to labor, resource extraction, and the commodification of the earth's raw materials. Curator: It also highlights the social narratives embedded in our landscapes, who benefits from the exploitation and who bears the burden? What is the environmental cost? Editor: Absolutely. This jar offers a stark contrast to more romanticized notions of artistic creation. It prompts us to consider the broader socio-economic forces that shape artistic practice. Curator: Looking at this artifact challenges the often-invisible power structures operating beneath the surface of cultural production. Editor: Precisely. I find this image deeply compelling.