Roman Wall II - Walltown 1960

Curator: Here we have Elizabeth Blackadder's "Roman Wall II - Walltown." It's currently part of the Tate Collections. Editor: My first thought? Bleak beauty. The ochre fields feel almost scorched, juxtaposed with that bruised, pinkish sky. Curator: It’s a print, and there's a real sense of the physicality of the process; you can almost feel the artist's hand pulling the print. You can see how the marks build up. Editor: And that wall, almost a scar on the landscape. I wonder about the labour involved in its original construction; the hands that laid each stone, the sweat, the sheer effort. Curator: Blackadder distills it all down to these elemental shapes and colors; it's a landscape reduced to its emotional essence. Editor: Yes, it is the kind of landscape that makes you think about the weight of history and how much effort we put into leaving our mark. Curator: In a way, the wall, the land and the print are all just layers of marks making up its story. Editor: A lasting impression.