Origin of Species 1971

Editor: This is Ceri Richards' "Origin of Species." It feels like a surreal garden, a space where botanical and human forms merge in a kind of generative dance. What do you see in it? Curator: I see a powerful articulation of interconnectedness, a feminist reclamation of Darwin's title. Richards seems to be questioning the very notion of fixed identities and species boundaries. How do the plant-human hybrid forms speak to ideas of evolution and change? Editor: It's almost as if he's suggesting a fluidity between what we consider "natural" and "human," dissolving hierarchies. Curator: Exactly! By blending these forms, Richards subverts traditional power structures inherent in Western thought, offering a vision of shared vulnerability and potential. He highlights the social construction of such binaries. Editor: I never considered the political implications of representing nature like this. Thank you! Curator: My pleasure. It's crucial to contextualize art within its historical and social framework and how it challenges the status quo.