Untitled 

Curator: This etching on paper presents a somewhat enigmatic scene. The artwork is simply titled "Untitled," and information regarding its date and creator is not currently available. Editor: The limited detail almost makes it appear ghostly. The chain, the column… It evokes images of broken monuments and lost empires. There’s an oppressive feeling, despite the delicacy of the lines. Curator: Well, that sense of decay ties into a wider tradition. The ruins depicted in the top corner evoke themes related to the cyclical nature of power, looking specifically into colonialism, historical erasure and institutionalized violence, but done so by hinting at the subject. Editor: You’re right. I can definitely see the column being coded for power. It reminds me how buildings become ideological tools and the monument is itself a visual expression of colonial ideology and systemic control. Are we looking at an architectural blueprint gone wrong? The text scrawled across the bottom looks like a draft "Final state of book plate for architecture." Curator: I think so, though there is so much open for speculation and discourse when contextualized into conversations surrounding nationhood, legacies, power, and perhaps more deeply around collective cultural identity that’s marked and shaped by the narratives that we carry as citizens in our current, deeply flawed landscape. Editor: I think its appeal lies in this mystery; the suggestive incompleteness allows room to contemplate power imbalances while considering that everything comes undone in due time, like empires and our material reality as humans inhabiting temporary spaces. Curator: It is a pertinent commentary to today, making it both an intellectual pursuit and an emotional encounter.