Ceramic Skull 1973

Editor: Here we have Paul Neagu’s *Ceramic Skull*, a sculpture made of ceramic. Its fragmented surface feels so unsettling. What do you see in this piece beyond its obvious form? Curator: I see a critique of power and control. The gridded structure, reminiscent of a prison or a panopticon, encases the skull, suggesting the ways in which societal structures can confine and dissect the individual. Editor: So the skull isn’t just a symbol of mortality, but of resistance against oppressive systems? Curator: Precisely. Neagu, having lived under a totalitarian regime in Romania, uses this form to explore the fragility of the individual spirit against monolithic forces. Do you see the gaps and absences within the structure? Editor: Now that you mention it, those gaps feel like pathways for dissent, spaces for reclaiming agency. I hadn't considered that. Curator: Indeed. The "skull" becomes a site of contestation, embodying both vulnerability and the potential for liberation.