Wall Split 1967 - 1968

Curator: Terry Setch's "Wall Split," currently in the Tate Collections, presents an intriguing urban scene. It’s quite large, over three meters wide. My initial impression is a feeling of societal division. Editor: The piece really speaks to the mundane realities of urban life, doesn't it? The materials and techniques employed by Setch in capturing this scene are fascinating. You see the use of commercial imagery juxtaposed with everyday life, two women passing by a billboard. Curator: Absolutely. And look at the billboard itself - the "Pinta Girl" advertisement, the blank grid beside it. It speaks to the commodification of the female image and the planned, often sterile, nature of urban spaces, how we're meant to consume even the visual environment. Editor: Precisely. It seems he’s questioning the values and structures inherent in a consumerist society, how our public spaces are essentially sites of advertisement and controlled messaging. Curator: It's a commentary on public space as controlled space, subtly done. Editor: It certainly gives us a lot to think about regarding the manufacture of consent, the artifice of advertising and the street, don't you think?