Backbone 2017

Editor: This is "Backbone," an acrylic on canvas painted in 2017 by Joshua Flint. It has this dreamlike, slightly unsettling atmosphere… Almost as if something is just out of reach. There’s a boy, seemingly undergoing a medical examination, and... are those dead birds? How do you interpret this work? Curator: I see a fascinating exploration of fragility and inner strength. The stethoscope, a potent symbol of healing and intervention, is juxtaposed with the lifeless birds, perhaps representing vulnerability or lost potential. Notice how the light pools around the boy’s chest, as if illuminating the very source of his vitality. Editor: So the backbone is both literal and figurative? Is it the boy’s physical health but also his resilience? Curator: Precisely. The birds themselves become powerful symbols. Consider the history of birds in art – often representing the soul, freedom, or even omen. Their placement in a tray, almost as specimens, prompts questions about control and the human impulse to categorize and understand life. Editor: That’s interesting! It also gives me a sense of the transient. I almost feel like this examination room might exist in his subconscious. Curator: I agree. There is a timeless quality. Perhaps Flint is suggesting we all carry our past experiences, our vulnerabilities – represented by the birds – within us, shaping our “backbone.” Is he searching for some latent ancestral memories? Or a modern symbol of nature, perhaps lost and longed for, even exploited? What is he searching for? Editor: Wow, I hadn't thought of it that way. I see a connection now between our internal experiences, how they affect us, and how they are often reflected back in the external world. It certainly adds a layer of complexity! Curator: Indeed. It reminds me to consider symbols not as fixed points, but rather fluid, changing in relation to cultural and personal memory.