The waiting room 

Editor: This intriguing piece is a mixed-media collage entitled "The Waiting Room" by Nieves Mingueza, using photography and paper. I’m struck by the fragmented form and how the monochromatic palette evokes a sense of quiet anticipation, maybe even isolation. What’s your take on this artwork? Curator: Looking at the materials – photography and paper collage – suggests an important dialogue. Photography, once seen as a purely representational medium, is here deconstructed and placed in conversation with hand-made paper elements. It prompts us to think about the labour involved in constructing an image, rather than accepting it as a straightforward record. Editor: So you’re focusing on the production aspect rather than the subject depicted? Curator: Exactly. The torn edges and visible layers of the collage reveal the process. This moves the artwork beyond simply portraying a 'waiting room' and into a commentary on how we create meaning through assembling fragments. How do the photographic elements function as material here, divorced from the expectation of capturing reality? Editor: Well, the photographic fragment appears almost like fabric. The gloved hand and the tailored suit—are they alluding to fashion and maybe the industry surrounding it? Curator: Precisely! We could also interpret those linear patterns on the left and right as wallpaper or textiles too, creating a sense of domestic space interrupted and redefined by consumerism. The collage, by its nature, is disrupting any sense of straightforward representation. How does it comment on ideas of authenticity, labour, and even class? Editor: That’s interesting. I initially focused on the mood, but now I see how the materials themselves are loaded with cultural and economic significance. Curator: Right. By emphasizing materiality, we can start deconstructing the social narratives embedded within this deceptively simple composition. Editor: I hadn't considered the link to labor and consumerism. I'll definitely look at collages differently now.