[title not known] 1981

Curator: This delicate spread, held in the Tate Collections, features work by William Johnstone adjacent to a poem titled "The Swimmer's Death". Editor: My first impression is starkness; the paper's expanse is almost overwhelming. It feels both spacious and strangely desolate. Curator: Johnstone's subtle washes create a sense of immense distance, almost as if the landscape is dissolving into the page itself. It's a curious interplay of text and image, isn't it? Editor: It is. The poem seems to almost weigh down the right side, while the faint charcoal strokes anchor the image, giving it form. I wonder what kind of paper was used, its texture must be important. Curator: Indeed. Johnstone often explored the space between representation and abstraction, hinting at deeper, almost spiritual resonances. Perhaps, it's about the ephemeral nature of life and memory itself. Editor: It certainly seems like the materiality and craftsmanship echo the fragility described in the poem. The lack of color emphasizes the solemnity and inevitability of decay. Curator: Ultimately, this work whispers of loss and the transient nature of our existence. Editor: Yes, a quiet meditation made potent through the contrast of sparse medium with the enormity of the subject.