Trois Couleurs Blanc 2016

Editor: So, this is Victo Ngai’s "Trois Couleurs Blanc," a poster from 2016. It has such a wistful, almost melancholic atmosphere, like a dream fading at the edges. What strikes me is the fracturing of the statue and how the figures within it seem to be walking away from something… How do you interpret this work? Curator: The "fracturing," as you so eloquently put it, resonates with me on a rather poignant level. It reminds me of Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, embracing the flaws as part of the object's history. In this piece, those fragmented edges… they’re not just breaks, are they? They're windows, perhaps thresholds. Don’t you find it curious how the characters seem to be both inside and outside this fractured form? Almost as if they are in between the statue’s… state of mind? Editor: That’s interesting, like they are physically walking away but are also still a part of it, of the… idea of it. Why the classical statue fragment though? Curator: Kieslowski's film, "White," explored themes of equality, love, and loss in a post-Soviet world. The statue? It's a visual representation of those crumbling ideals. Notice how the figures are draped in contemporary clothing? A visual juxtaposition to the historical and idyllic perfection of the classical statue that seems so fitting in capturing a universal state of romantic melancholy! A beautiful poster that certainly makes you want to experience the film, doesn’t it? Editor: Absolutely. I think I have a much deeper appreciation for the complexities of this film poster and the layers of meanings Ngai managed to squeeze into this one artwork. Curator: Indeed! And perhaps, just perhaps, we carry fragments of our own fractured ideals with us, marching onward toward that elusive wholeness. Just like that traveler and his suitcase, we pick up, we proceed, don’t we?