Sixty Four Stopcock Box Lids 1976 - 1977

Curator: Immediately, the repetition strikes me. It's almost like a muted, industrial-age wallpaper. Editor: This is 'Sixty Four Stopcock Box Lids' by Esq Tom Phillips, part of the Tate collection. Phillips, born in 1937, often focuses on the overlooked aspects of everyday life. Curator: The process here is key. The way the artist has chosen to represent these mundane objects elevates them, prompting us to reconsider their materiality and function within our urban environments. Editor: Absolutely. Think about what these objects represent: access, control, infrastructure hidden beneath our feet. Phillips presents a commentary on the unnoticed systems that underpin our society. Who has access? Who controls these systems? Curator: It's also the subtle variations. The unique textures and slight colour shifts in each lid hint at the individual history imprinted by weather and time, challenging the uniformity. Editor: True. It's a powerful reminder to question the accepted narratives, and to see how the individual and the collective are intertwined. I'm left considering what’s concealed beneath the surface of the everyday.