Crystal Heads, British Museum, London, June July 1936 1936

Curator: Oh, that's intense, unnerving almost! The gaze of all those skulls… and that figure reflected in the glass, watching. A bit ghostly, no? Editor: Indeed. We're looking at Claude Cahun's "Crystal Heads, British Museum, London, June July 1936," a photograph taken at, well, the British Museum. It shows a display case filled with ancient Mesoamerican artifacts. And yes, that’s Cahun herself reflected, peeking out from behind the display. Curator: Mesoamerican. So powerful, raw, primal... And I see so many layers in this shot; there is literal glass separating the figures inside, as well as Cahun standing outside. What do you make of those planes? Editor: Cahun frequently used mirrors and reflections in her work to explore identity and the construction of the self. Here, the artist inserts themself into the narrative, questioning who is observing whom, challenging conventional museum display, highlighting colonial encounters with looted artifacts, and the role of museums as custodians, a political institution in many ways. Curator: Custodianship...I always think of Borges' "Library of Babel," of endless halls of archived knowledge, with seekers peering from behind lenses trying to discern deeper meanings...it makes me wonder if Cahun considered their art historical relevance or felt any sort of cosmic connection to those displayed ancient objects... Editor: The ancient world provided Cahun a lens through which they interrogated contemporary social norms. These sculptures transcend neat categories of "ancient art," entering into an intertextual dialogue with Cahun's body of work that speaks so intimately to questions of gender fluidity and non-binary identities. This is an engagement with visual language and signifiers. Curator: True. I see a sort of rebellious reclamation—Cahun insinuating themself, asserting themself right alongside these iconic symbols. Maybe not quite ownership, but definitely kinship... Like saying, "I see you, and you see me, even through time." It seems more of an active act of "seeing" rather than "observing passively." Editor: Precisely. It’s a statement. A challenge to established orders, temporal and social. In bringing her contemporary vision into the archival space, Cahun creates an opportunity to reevaluate systems of power and interpretation, raising profound questions about gender, history, and representation. Curator: Gives you the chills, doesn’t it? A conversation across centuries. Thank you, Cahun, for the eerie glimpse. Editor: Indeed, a powerful convergence of history, identity, and the questioning gaze.