Canto I: [no title] 1981

Curator: Esq Tom Phillips created this intriguing image, titled Canto I: [no title]. The dimensions are roughly 290 by 203 mm, and it resides in the Tate Collections. What's your first impression? Editor: It feels like staring into a dense forest where the trees themselves are made of words, or maybe a secret code hidden in plain sight. Very intriguing, very dense. Curator: Indeed. Phillips is known for his altered book works, and that dense layering speaks to his process of manipulating existing materials. Notice how the text becomes texture, almost obscuring any clear narrative. Editor: It's like language being reclaimed by the earth, rendered illegible yet still somehow expressive. I wonder about the original source text and how its meaning shifts through this process. It's beautiful and a bit unsettling. Curator: Absolutely, and that tension between readability and abstraction is key to understanding Phillips' larger exploration of language, meaning, and the materiality of the book itself. Editor: Well, I am still getting lost in these leafy, labyrinthine words. I suppose that's the whole point. Curator: Perhaps we've only scratched the surface, haven't we?