[no title: p. 117] 1970

Curator: Esq Tom Phillips, born in 1937, created this intriguing mixed media piece, without a title, that we know is part of the Tate Collections. Editor: My first impression is that it's a fragmented poem trying to escape a blackout. Curator: Exactly! He often worked by layering text and images, obscuring and revealing to create new meanings. It's from "A Humument," his altered version of a Victorian novel. Editor: So, the phrases "sorry for ivor," "against hope," these are found phrases? And is that aggressive black ink or paint obliterating most of the page? Curator: Both. He painted over pages, leaving only certain words visible, crafting a visual and literary remix. I see it as a dialogue between past and present. Editor: It definitely prompts a sense of unease with the book, or document, being physically and conceptually violated. I wonder if it is a political or social statement? Curator: Perhaps both. Phillips was interested in how meaning shifts through context and manipulation. It is a commentary on the fragility of knowledge, perhaps? Editor: Looking at the date 127 on the right, I can see the original document and Phillips' work at the same time, like the layers of history informing our current understanding. Curator: Yes, it shows how one can find new meanings from old sources. It is a dance of destruction and creation, where the old makes way for something unforeseen.