Llandudno c. 1979 - 1983

Editor: Here we have Barry Flanagan's "Llandudno" from the Tate Collection, a minimalist print of a landscape. It feels very pared down, almost like a child's drawing. What do you see in this piece? Curator: It’s interesting how Flanagan uses such a simple visual language to depict a specific place. Do you think the choice of Llandudno as a subject is significant? Editor: I hadn't considered that! Is Llandudno a place with particular cultural associations? Curator: Absolutely. It evokes a very specific type of British seaside resort, a space of leisure, tourism, and a certain kind of idealized landscape. The print, therefore, speaks to the construction and marketing of place through art. Editor: So it's less about the literal landscape and more about how it's represented? Curator: Exactly. Flanagan’s reduction of the scene to basic lines highlights how imagery shapes our understanding and experience of real places. Editor: That really changes how I see it. It's not just a simple landscape, it's about the idea of a landscape. Curator: Precisely. The politics of imagery are always at play, even in what seems like the simplest of scenes.