Put Away 

Curator: Sandberg’s “Put Away” really struck me—there's an arresting kind of darkness. How do you feel about the narrative the artist is weaving here? Editor: You know, I am completely drawn in! My first impression is pure childhood terror mixed with this strange premonition. That little grim reaper is like something straight out of a bad dream. Curator: Grim reaper might not be so far off. Note the industry in the background, and then you'll also see the figure—the second child—its rib cage is fully visible, like a walking skeleton in a sheet. Editor: Right! I hadn’t quite put those two elements together: the skeletal child and the industrial landscape. So, we have innocence literally being weighed down by a decaying future? It's quite stark. I almost missed it for that grotesque child, I suppose it means our eye goes there because it is the next future! Curator: The layers of symbolism are rather powerful. The owl puppet suggests knowledge perhaps passed down through generations and maybe tainted or corrupted—doomed if we look into our fate? It almost looks like they are force-feeding knowledge, even the skeletal figure looks as if it’s forcing this into being—as if fate is decided and doomed. Editor: Absolutely. The baby is not happy! And the composition… framing all of this in this strange hexagonal, almost tombstone shape. The toy phones nearby create a link or conversation and this feels more urgent. Curator: Very astute. Given all of these grim visual cues, do you find any thread of hope or redemption present? Editor: Hmmm, it’s hard to say. The somewhat romantic lighting? The other child offering the doll rather than violence! It makes me wonder if awareness, that puppeted "wisdom", is the first step away from oblivion? Curator: That's a hopeful outlook! Sandberg's vision definitely lingers, doesn't it? It offers a sharp warning about the legacy we're building. Editor: I am left seeing our culpability! As you said earlier about that corruption. So, I can’t get it out of my head… thanks Sandberg, I think!