[no title] 1998

Editor: This is an untitled etching by John Walker. The scratchy lines and rather tortured-looking figure give it a really unsettling feel. What social commentaries do you think Walker might be trying to make with this piece? Curator: Given Walker's history, particularly his work engaging with oppressive imagery, I wonder if the figure gestures towards the dehumanization inherent in power structures. How does the figure’s bound head inform your reading? Editor: That’s interesting. The head does look almost mummified, like it’s suppressing something or someone. It gives it a political edge I hadn’t considered. Curator: Exactly. The politics of imagery are always at play, even in abstraction.