Untitled, from Sightlines 2000

Curator: It’s hard to resist this arresting image. Wanda Koop created this untitled painting, part of her ‘Sightlines’ series, in 2000, deploying acrylic paint to achieve a mesmerizing exploration of form and color. Editor: Well, I’m immediately sucked in. It's like staring into the heart of something, maybe a strange, abstract sunrise...or the bullseye on a particularly stylish target. Red, against the blue fading to white—the simplicity is almost aggressive. Curator: "Aggressive" is an interesting word choice. The "Sightlines" series often grapples with the relationship between the viewer and the viewed, exploring the dynamics of power inherent in visual representation. Are you picking up on that potential power dynamic? Editor: Hmmm, I suppose. Power is always in the eye, or rather the gut, of the beholder. The hard-edge painting and color-field techniques she's playing with could relate to pop and op art; maybe she's after an experience that feels visceral and immediate, confronting us directly with a visual puzzle that seems oddly confrontational. Curator: Exactly! The geometric abstraction nods to those movements, but Koop's work frequently engages with themes of identity and place, and more broadly reflects on our contemporary experience of hyper-mediation. So, even though we can appreciate it aesthetically, the repetition of these almost hypnotic circular forms compels us to contemplate more profound social and political themes. Editor: You’ve given me food for thought. The thing is, before context, this artwork creates an atmosphere. To me, its stark contrast seems to say something simple: here I am. Don’t ignore me. Curator: It's precisely that tension—the simple yet confrontational presentation coexisting with a complex theoretical underpinning—that makes Wanda Koop’s piece so compelling and ripe for ongoing re-evaluation within broader narratives. Editor: Right. For me, it boils down to that immediate connection. Something about those bold colours and shapes… They just dare you to look closer, feel deeper. No filter. Curator: And that’s precisely where the social power structures emerge, once you *do* allow yourself to consider context. Very insightful, if I may say.