Canto X: [no title] 1982

Curator: This is Esq Tom Phillips' "Canto X," part of his lifelong project, "A Humument," where he transforms the pages of a Victorian novel into new artworks. Editor: There's something eerie about this. The dense figures in the background, framing a book sealed with clock-like dials and a black void... Curator: Phillips uses collage and painted interventions on existing book pages. Consider the labor involved—selecting, altering, and recontextualizing these found materials. It challenges our notions of originality, doesn't it? Editor: Absolutely. And beyond craft, it's the commentary on history. The obscured figures feel like a repressed narrative struggling to surface, while the book acts as a gatekeeper. Curator: The Victorian novel becomes a raw material. Its repurposing creates an entirely new commodity for art consumption. Editor: I see the book as a symbol of constructed knowledge, hinting at the subjective, often exclusionary, nature of historical accounts. The closed book is knowledge withheld. Curator: A fascinating interplay of text, image, and the very act of making! Editor: Indeed, a stark reminder that what we see is always mediated.