Serving Fish 2018

Curator: Victo Ngai's "Serving Fish," created in 2018, immediately pulls you into a world of Art Nouveau elegance, doesn't it? Editor: Oh, absolutely! I'm struck by its ethereal quality. It’s like peering into a gilded dream – or maybe a premonition. There's a distinct sense of... transformation, almost amphibian in the reflected image. Curator: The use of stark silhouettes against that shimmering backdrop certainly amplifies that feeling. And think about the material culture represented – pearls, jewelry, the vanity itself. These objects weren’t just passively rendered; they are deeply connected with the woman’s identity, even her potential commodification, as conveyed through the title. Editor: True, and I'm fixated on that reflection, its serpentine details almost ghostlike against the solid black form in the foreground. I get the title now! It is not about literally serving fish; it evokes the sense that women must “serve” beauty, luxury and wealth, often at their own expense. It makes you wonder, is the reflection who she truly is? Curator: I'd add to that it’s important to consider the work within the tradition of narrative illustration. What story is Ngai telling here, and how is she using figuration to convey those social and political critiques? There’s that constant dance between surface-level allure and more substantial commentary. What about those scale-like details in the mirror image's complexion? It suggests layers, hidden narratives about value and appearance. Editor: Yes! Exactly. There's something unsettling, almost monstrous about that reflected face. It hints at this hidden other beneath all that opulence. Like a fae creature staring back. Maybe it's her true self emerging, or being “served”. It also makes me question my own perspective on femininity. The narrative seems like it could be deeply rooted in internal struggles with identity. Curator: Right. Seeing it this way brings more urgency and deeper understanding for today's women to deconstruct systems that confine, restrict and undervalue the inner life. It's there through the illustration itself, from how this artwork was brought to life and what it portrays, through the cultural conditions that shaped its meaning. Editor: Hmm. "Serving Fish"... it really makes you ponder, doesn't it? Not just surface appeal but the complex internal waters we all navigate. Curator: Precisely, and how those waters reflect something truer than what initially meets the eye.