Asteria 

Curator: Here we have Mary Jane Ansell’s *Asteria*, rendered in oil. The artist uses the traditional medium to present a distinctly contemporary image. Editor: My goodness, she's captivating. Her eyes, those are the windows to a very serious soul, don’t you think? And there’s something hauntingly beautiful about the shadows playing on her face. Curator: Indeed. The painting appears classical, yet consider the symbolic weight of the Union Jack serving as a backdrop. We can interpret it in various ways, but clearly there is commentary on contemporary notions of Britishness. It pushes back against purely historical interpretations of portraiture, gesturing to contemporary concerns around identity, race and even the art market. Editor: It feels less like a celebration and more like… a contemplation, almost wary. It’s like she's bearing the weight of a nation, or at least the complex history it represents. I’m fascinated by the use of oil—it’s a heavy, historically loaded material in and of itself. Its use in portraits is an assertion of power, I wonder how that material choice complicates the symbolism of national identity in this artwork? Curator: Precisely. The oil paint’s ability to mimic skin texture is central to the work. Note how Ansell plays with textures—the smoothness of skin juxtaposed with the rougher strokes depicting fabric. Her rendering process almost asks, "What do these textures and materials mean for art's value within our contemporary context?” Editor: Absolutely, it’s about power and visibility. The subtle details, like the red coat that’s both regal and, dare I say, vaguely menacing. This painting holds multiple interpretations in a tense balance. Ansell invites a certain anxiety here. What I like most, actually, is that lingering sense of unsettledness. Curator: It’s about destabilising these certainties, wouldn’t you say? It forces us to engage critically with notions of heritage, and even questions the very processes by which value and representation are manufactured in the art world. Editor: Right. This piece really invites introspection about the myths we carry and what they truly mean. The use of such classic visual strategies somehow amplifies all these timely and uneasy ideas. Curator: Ultimately, Ansell gives us a face and flag we think we know. Her artistic intervention reveals that they're so much more intricate than they seem at first glance. Editor: Exactly, and perhaps not what we expect.