The Space Between 2019

Curator: Martine Johanna’s “The Space Between,” painted in 2019 using oil paint, strikes me immediately as unsettling. The contrast of the luminous figure against that stark black background…it's quite dramatic. Editor: It's more than dramatic, it feels deliberate, doesn’t it? That void on the figure’s chest—is that simply a black circle, or something more? Also look at how she’s using those particular shades to highlight certain areas...what can you say about her method? Curator: I think it’s fair to call it calculated. Look at the garment—what is that shape disrupting the whole design? What kind of access does this piece signal to? Editor: Well, thinking symbolically, the circle in some traditions represents wholeness, while a black circle might suggest the opposite—a void, absence, or even death. But consider too, in a more contemporary sense, the flattening effect of online culture or surveillance... Curator: Interesting to use of contemporary interpretations to view older pieces. So if the artist is deliberately choosing familiar themes that could signify death of identity that speaks to her intention for consumption? Editor: It could certainly be viewed through that lens. But what do you make of the cigarette? The smoke seems almost… spectral. Curator: Ah, the cigarette as a symbolic marker, quite common in modern figuration I'd suggest, a tool with a life of its own once lit...like so many material things of comfort to give form and order. A constructed identity perhaps in all of its making, literally! What would one's interpretation even exist without this? Editor: So, almost a performance of consumption. Yet that pale figure with closed eyes seems lost within, not outwardly expressive or actively participating. Curator: I see what you're implying. But think of those blush tones—she may be highlighting the fact we cannot see her fully as both participant and creator. The layers here are intentionally dense. I see both the product but also a critique of being consumed simultaneously. Editor: Well, it certainly offers layers to unravel. It feels strangely modern, and at the same time very human, wouldn’t you say? Curator: I'd agree. There's something universal about the use of materials to mark an impression in the modern context that makes one wonder about production and consumption.