Leda Theme I 1972

Editor: Here we have Sidney Nolan's "Leda Theme I," part of the Tate collection. The way the figures are rendered gives it an almost dreamlike, unsettling feel. What can you tell us about how this work fits into Nolan's larger artistic project? Curator: Nolan often engaged with mythology to explore Australian identity and history. How does recasting the Greek myth of Leda within an Australian landscape comment on colonial narratives and the appropriation of cultural stories? Editor: That's a perspective I hadn't considered. It's interesting to think about how Nolan uses mythology to talk about those issues. Curator: Exactly. By placing classical themes within a specific geographic and cultural context, Nolan invites us to reconsider the power dynamics inherent in storytelling and cultural representation. What do you think?