Patterned Plate 1979

Editor: So, we're looking at Kit Williams' painting "Patterned Plate," from 1979. It's such a curious piece; almost dreamlike. The colours are muted, and there's this strange group of figures interacting in a very odd way. I'm quite taken aback! What jumps out at you when you look at it? Curator: Ah, yes, Kit Williams. He lures us into these worlds that are both familiar and utterly bizarre. Notice how he plays with realism. These are, undeniably, people, rendered with attention to light and form, but then arranged in a composition that defies logic. It feels as if you stepped into an eerie nursery rhyme. Editor: Exactly! A creepy nursery rhyme. There's a definite sense of narrative but it remains obscure and personal. Curator: Precisely. Perhaps a forgotten ritual, a communal drama only Williams understands completely. The plates the figures are holding -- repeated, patterned-- serve a symbolic role too, suggesting collective work. Look at those who are walking by...they don't quite acknowledge us, it’s a fleeting experience. And, it looks like everyone in the back are literally fenced off from the current group dynamics? Do you notice the looks on the individuals from both sides? What is their story? Editor: Yes! The almost voyeuristic element of it is intense. Also how those walking along in the foreground are more realistic than the figures in the back? This layering contributes so much depth, not only in the painting but the symbolism itself! Curator: See, the layering. Yes. He's built a riddle using paint and light. What kind of emotional feeling does that inspire? The muted colors and strange groupings.. How do they add to it? Editor: Almost discomfort. As though being on the outside looking in on something so bizarre...leaving one in complete uncertainty. I'll definitely need more time to sit with "Patterned Plate", but I do feel a sense of the collective, despite its bizarreness. Curator: It stays with you, doesn't it? And that, I think, is its charm. Williams leaves a breadcrumb trail of clues but no easy answers.