Untitled [from the book ‘Oxford Gardens: a Sketchbook’ by Ivor Abrahams] 1977

Curator: This is an untitled print by Ivor Abrahams, one of a series found in his book ‘Oxford Gardens: a Sketchbook.’ Editor: It’s so still, almost like a stage set. The light feels very deliberate, doesn't it? Curator: Abrahams was deeply interested in the artifice of gardens, their role in constructing idealized landscapes. This print is typical of his exploration into the relationship between sculpture and garden design. Editor: You can almost smell the cut grass and damp stone. It's like a memory of a very particular kind of English afternoon. Curator: Indeed, a constructed memory, perhaps, reflecting on the cultural ideal of the English garden as much as any reality. Editor: A fascinating point; it makes you wonder what's hidden just outside the frame. Curator: Exactly; Abrahams invites us to question the boundaries between nature and art.