Interior of an Exotic Palace c. 1867

Editor: This watercolor is titled *Interior of an Exotic Palace*, created around 1867 by Hercules Brabazon Brabazon. The looseness of the brushstrokes gives it an almost dreamlike quality. It feels very open, yet also a little secretive. What do you make of this space? Curator: The “exotic” framing suggests a longing for otherness, typical of the 19th-century Western gaze. But look at how Brabazon renders that central pillar—almost obscuring our view. What do pillars represent across cultures? Editor: Stability? Connection between earth and sky? Curator: Precisely. Brabazon disrupts that. It is off-center, challenging our sense of stability. Then notice the colors – oranges, greens, blues – are they harmonious or clashing? What emotions do they evoke? Editor: There's a push and pull. Some of the colors are bright and welcoming, but the shadowed doorways are unsettling. It makes me wonder what Brabazon wanted us to feel about "exoticism" through this building’s structure and decor. Curator: The building, a common image used to define and protect the "us" from the "them." What does Brabazon appear to be suggesting about the self and the other with his color choice? Editor: He might be using exoticism not to transport the viewer to an "other" place, but instead to bring foreign cultures and spaces into relationship. So you have elements that are familiar and unfamiliar simultaneously. Curator: Yes, disrupting fixed categories, creating a dialogue between familiarity and foreignness! A painting like this invites us to question not only the scene it depicts but also our own cultural baggage, challenging assumptions and sparking curiosity, I wonder, what other symbols jump out? Editor: I'll need more time to unpack the painting's visual language and Brabazon's relationship to other cultures. Curator: As do we all. Symbols reveal so much!