Shift 1997

Curator: Jenny Saville’s “Shift,” executed in 1997, is an imposing oil painting that exemplifies her unflinching gaze upon the human form. Editor: Woah. Okay, immediately I get this kind of... visceral reaction. It feels confrontational, almost oppressive. Like being crammed into a crowded space, bodies pressed against each other, but not in a comfortable way. More like a raw, exposed kind of closeness. Curator: That sense of compression is key. Saville meticulously constructs the composition, layering and distorting the figures. Note how the forms bleed into one another, challenging conventional notions of perspective and the individual body as a discrete entity. The use of color is equally crucial to consider. The muted, fleshy tones and viscous application evoke a sense of corporeality that flirts with both attraction and revulsion. Editor: Totally. The colors are… almost sickly sweet, like overripe fruit about to turn. It’s funny, isn't it? How she captures the texture and weight of flesh. There's something deeply vulnerable, yet incredibly powerful, about presenting bodies this way. Almost reclaiming them. Curator: Exactly. Saville consciously challenges traditional art historical representations of the female nude, subverting the male gaze. The scale itself—a canvas nearly six feet square—demands attention, refusing to be easily dismissed. She encourages viewers to grapple with the complexities and imperfections of the human form, moving beyond superficial ideals of beauty. The distorted forms point to ideas related to post-structuralism—suggesting there is not only one definition of self or identity, but rather it is constantly shifting. Editor: Yeah, and it makes you think about the physical experience of being in a body, with all its awkwardness and its weird angles and its sometimes-uncomfortable closeness to other bodies. Curator: Indeed. It compels us to confront our own preconceived notions and, perhaps, reassess our relationship to our physical selves. Editor: I’m still processing… there's something intensely personal about how Saville renders flesh, like she’s laying bare the most intimate aspects of our humanity for all to see. Really makes you think. Curator: A powerful demonstration of deconstruction in the most material and meaningful sense, then, challenging the established norms and discourses about the body.