Untitled V 1999

Editor: This is Paula Rego's "Untitled V" from the Tate Collections. It's a photo, and I find it quite unsettling. The table and the watery trails… it feels like a scene after something bad has happened. What do you see in this image? Curator: The long table with water traces and a wooden plank, yes, it whispers stories, doesn't it? The stark black and white emphasizes the loneliness, the desolation. I think of old rituals, perhaps a cleansing, or something more somber... what kind of stories do you imagine playing out here? Editor: That's interesting, rituals... I hadn't considered that. It makes me think about the power of absence, like the water has washed something away. Curator: Exactly! And Rego, with her playful touch, often hints at those darker, unsaid things, doesn't she? It's like she invites us to complete the narrative. A potent image, indeed.