VI 1976

Curator: Allen Jones's "VI" is a print that's all sharp angles and sizzling colour. What strikes you most about it? Editor: Well, it's definitely striking. The fragmented figures and bold colours give it an aggressive, almost confrontational mood. It feels…unfinished, somehow. Curator: Interesting. Jones often plays with fragmentation to challenge traditional notions of representation, and question how we perceive gender roles, sexuality, and power. The whip adds to the puzzle. Editor: That's it! The disembodied limbs, the faceless man, the lurid colours… it's all a bit unsettling. Symbols of power, certainly, but also of a fractured identity. Curator: Yes, and by using popular imagery, he makes us question the codes underlying our own desires and fantasies. Editor: It’s more than just pop art, then; it's a psychological exploration using the language of advertising. Curator: Precisely. I think this work is about the artist coming to terms with his generation. Editor: Quite insightful. I’m not sure how I feel about it, but I can see how this image lingers in the mind.