Canto XXVI: [no title] 1983

Editor: We're looking at Esq Tom Phillips' "Canto XXVI," date unknown, from the Tate. It’s rather dark, a collision of shapes and words. What strikes me is its opacity. How do you approach something so dense? Curator: Ah, density, like a good fruitcake! I see a palimpsest, layers of meaning obscuring and revealing each other. Phillips often used found texts, burying and exhuming words, like an archaeologist of language. What resonates with you from those fragmented words? Editor: I hadn't considered that. It feels… chaotic, but also deliberate, as if he's controlling the chaos. Curator: Exactly! The artist’s hand, always present, guiding us through the labyrinth. It's a private world made public, a conversation with the ghosts of literature. Does it speak to you now? Editor: It does, like a secret language I'm just beginning to understand. Curator: And isn't that the joy of art – the slow unfurling of secrets?