Dimensions: unconfirmed: 2090 x 1340 mm
Copyright: © Fiona Banner | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Curator: The interplay between text and image here is quite compelling. We have Fiona Banner's "Spilt Nude," created without a confirmed date. The stark contrast of black text on a white ground immediately commands attention. Editor: It's a really striking piece! It feels both chaotic and very controlled at the same time. The text seems to be shaping the figure, but also obscuring it. How do you approach a work like this? Curator: I start with the materiality. Notice how the text is not simply descriptive, but also functions as a visual element. The density and arrangement create a sense of volume and shadow. It’s as if the text itself is the body, fragmented and reassembled. Editor: So, the language becomes the form? I never thought of it that way before. Curator: Precisely. Banner isn't just illustrating a nude; she’s exploring how language constructs and deconstructs our perception of the body. The spillage and drips further emphasize this sense of fragmentation and fluidity. Editor: That's fascinating. I'll definitely be thinking about the language of form in a new way now.
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Spilt Nude is a written description of a naked woman. Banner believes, ‘we always come back to the issue of describing the human form. It’s a way of describing ourselves – an attempt to stall time long enough to make some kind of reflection, not of the stuff around, but of us, the flesh.’ Banner often employs text as a visual medium and is best known for her ‘wordscapes’. Her work explores how experiences are translated into language and the ways in which actual or imagined events are fictionalised and mythologised. Gallery label, December 2020
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