War 

Editor: Eileen Agar's mixed-media piece, "War," is incredibly unsettling. There's a real sense of chaos, with abstract shapes and figures clashing within the composition. What do you see in this work, what’s your read of its layers and implications? Curator: It does feel rather raw, doesn’t it? Agar conjures a world fragmented by conflict, yet refuses to depict war literally. See how she shatters forms and splinters perspective. War isn't just bombs and soldiers; it's the psychological earthquake, the rending of society, the loss of certainty. I sense the very act of painting as a way of processing the world asunder. Editor: The figure in the center, almost dissolving into the background – is that meant to be a victim, a soldier, or maybe something else entirely? Curator: Ah, now you're thinking! Could it be a stand-in for humanity itself, caught in the gears of conflict, becoming both perpetrator and victim? I find the ambiguity profoundly disturbing – are we not all complicit in some way? And that muted palette…it feels like the world drained of its vibrancy. Tell me, does that central figure evoke any emotions within you? Editor: Definitely unease. There’s a vulnerability that’s really powerful, even as it feels chaotic. Curator: Indeed, a controlled chaos. And in that friction is the very essence of what Agar sought to convey, I think. War isn't easily defined; it’s a multi-faceted horror that distorts everything it touches, even our understanding of ourselves. Editor: I never thought about the colours being indicative of that destruction, that makes me reflect on other colour usage now too. Thanks for enlightening me! Curator: My pleasure, isn't it amazing the impact the art holds and has the capacity to create and instigate within us.