Portrait of Mario Calabria 1981

Editor: This is Max Uhlig's "Portrait of Mario Calabria" from the Tate Collections. The frenetic lines create a really unsettling image. What's your take on it? Curator: The seeming chaos of lines, when viewed through the lens of post-war anxieties and the politics of representation, speaks volumes. Uhlig, working in East Germany, was creating images during a time of intense social and political control. Do you think this portrait is an act of rebellion? Editor: Possibly. It definitely challenges traditional portraiture. I hadn't considered the socio-political context. Curator: Exactly. The "destruction" of the image could be a subversive commentary on the individual under state control, a way of questioning the very idea of identity within a restrictive regime. Food for thought, right? Editor: Definitely. I see it in a new light now. Thanks!