Wine Collector 

Curator: I find myself strangely unsettled by this mixed-media piece titled "Wine Collector," by Michael Parkes. What strikes you upon first viewing it? Editor: The figures feel so emblematic, almost like characters plucked from a fable. There’s a strong suggestion of classical allegory meeting a playful, almost surreal sensibility. A sense of nostalgia permeates the image, tinged with irony. Curator: Indeed. Parkes is known for precisely this intersection of classical technique with surrealist imagery. Note the juxtaposition: a somber figure, perhaps a court jester or an androgynous character clad in peculiar garb, cradles a bunch of grapes, while a winged creature, something akin to a cherubic bird-man, offers a glass of wine. Editor: That winged creature…the detail is captivating! Its hybridity makes it feel almost like a commentary on desire and transformation, fitting for Bacchus and all things associated with grapes and wine. It feels laden with symbolism: the grapes themselves, the shears, and even the little wine-sipping humanoid with avian features. It speaks to cycles of consumption, harvest, and transformation. Curator: Exactly. These are charged images with social implications when considering Parkes' oeuvre, often touching on gender fluidity and marginalized figures. This piece may subvert expectations and challenge rigid social constructs tied to consumption and celebration, even morality. There's almost a tension there in those two characters, right? The generous jester holding out the promise and a bird-man tasting that same promise... What can we do with those feelings, once tapped into them? Editor: Yes, there is a certain precarity, but the warmth and tenderness in both of the figures eyes helps balance any of those concerns you’re naming here. In a psychological sense, these may simply be ways of visualizing and accepting all parts of ourselves, or parts of our communities and societal rituals. Curator: I agree there is also something hopeful present in that acceptance of others through art; so much of life is figuring out the world, even a surreal, slightly ominous world, together. Thank you, that really makes this work stand out as a marker for hope, if anything. Editor: Indeed, considering how powerful these recurring, enduring motifs appear in the context of visual arts!