Yacht II 1983

Curator: Barry Flanagan’s "Yacht II," held here at the Tate, strikes me as unexpectedly delicate given its subject. Editor: It's interesting that you say that. The torn edges and deep blue shapes evoke something almost primal, a fragmented memory of maritime power. Curator: Perhaps, but consider the yacht itself, a symbol of leisure and privilege, deconstructed through the raw materiality. Is it a critique of class structures? Editor: Or perhaps a reimagining of a universal symbol? Boats have been mythologized across cultures, representing journeys, the subconscious, and even the soul's passage. Curator: Interesting! I was so focused on the socio-political implications of the subject and the artist's process. Editor: Well, it all comes together, doesn't it? History, culture, even the individual psyche, reflected in these evocative shapes.