Two People 1934

Curator: Before us, we have Gertrude Hermes' "Two People," a compelling print from the Tate collection. Editor: Wow, there’s something incredibly intense about this. The figures seem trapped, maybe by each other, maybe by the very starkness of the medium. Curator: Hermes, working in the interwar period, often used the woodcut technique to explore themes of human connection and tension. Considering this context, do you see it reflecting broader social anxieties? Editor: Absolutely, you feel the push and pull, the weight of expectation. I think she really manages to translate the feeling of the era into visual form. Curator: Indeed, the contrast between light and shadow emphasizes the complexities of relationships, and the social pressures that constrain individuals. Editor: It’s a reminder that even intimate relationships exist in a complex social and political landscape. I like how the work leaves so much to the imagination, a space for reflecting upon ourselves.