Genotek 

Curator: Here we have Sue Coe's print, “Genotek.” The piece is an etching rendered in ink, showcasing a number of animals. Artist: Ugh, instantly unsettling. It’s that harsh, high-contrast black and white, almost brutal in its starkness. Is that...a slaughterhouse vibe I’m picking up? Makes me feel cold. Curator: Coe's work is very much rooted in social realism; she often depicts scenes of animal cruelty and the industrialization of meat production to critique these processes. You can see what looks like livestock in various states here. It certainly makes one consider labor practices, resource allocation, and consumerism. Artist: Oh, definitely getting that now. See how the composition's crammed with bodies? Hanging carcasses next to resting animals. It creates a real sense of claustrophobia and the way they're grouped...it’s like this relentless machinery devouring everything. Are those shadowy figures meant to be workers or something more sinister? Curator: Perhaps both. Notice the use of line—the roughness contributes to a feeling of immediacy. She isn’t trying to disguise the material process; rather, the roughness becomes part of the message itself. The medium itself reinforces her activist viewpoint and criticism of mass production. Artist: The longer I look, the more I feel that I am bearing witness to something awful, something happening out of sight that should be made visible. Art serving as a wake-up call – messy, visceral, and hard to ignore. I am thinking of slaughterhouses hidden away... out of our line of sight, out of our minds. Curator: Exactly. Her method makes you think about your own role as a consumer within a larger, complex, and sometimes brutal, economic system. Artist: Well, I will probably eat salad for the rest of the week after encountering this piece. It feels like she wants the world to think a little harder. Curator: Coe does use materials and images as weapons to urge self-reflection in that way. I will now ponder supply chain management over my next meal.