Welsh Cob 1983

Curator: This is Barry Flanagan's "Welsh Cob," part of the Tate collection. It's a monochromatic print focusing on the elegant lines of the horse's profile. Editor: I'm immediately drawn to the simplicity. The stark contrast and minimal lines give it an almost ancient, classical feel. Curator: The horse, of course, is deeply symbolic. Across cultures, it represents power, freedom, nobility… and in Celtic mythology, it's strongly tied to fertility and the Otherworld. Editor: Interesting how the negative space shapes the animal's musculature and conveys movement, even in stillness. It’s a clever use of reduction. Curator: It strips away extraneous detail, leaving us with the essence of the horse, distilled through cultural memory and primal associations. Editor: Ultimately, it’s the formal interplay between the white line and dark background that makes it so compelling. Curator: Absolutely. Flanagan has left us with an image resonant with layered meanings, evoked by the simplest of means. Editor: It's a study in contrasts, both visually and conceptually, and has far more to say than one might assume at first glance.