Sue 1972

Curator: This is "Sue," a striking drawing by Barry Flanagan. Editor: My first thought? A little vulnerable, maybe a touch unsettling. The lines are so fragile. Curator: The piece invites us to consider the gaze, doesn't it? How Sue is positioned, how we are positioned as viewers, and the power dynamics at play. Flanagan, throughout his work, interrogates the objectification of women. Editor: The vulnerability, I think, comes from that direct stare, but also the incompleteness. It feels like a fragment of a thought. Curator: Exactly. It disrupts traditional portraiture, leaving space for the subject's interiority. It gives her agency, even within the confines of representation. Editor: Hmm, I like that. It's less about capturing Sue, and more about suggesting her. Food for thought.