The Changling 2016

Editor: Here we have Joe Machine's 2016 oil painting, "The Changeling." It has this slightly unsettling, theatrical feel to it, almost like figures in a play. There are some archaic or mythic characters observing a modern-day mother and child. What story do you think this painting is trying to tell, considering its historical and cultural references? Curator: The term "changeling" refers to folklore about fairies swapping human babies with their own. Knowing this, we can understand Machine's figures as historical anxieties around identity, otherness, and the perceived threat to societal purity. Think about it - why represent those anxieties now, in 2016? Editor: Is it fair to see these anxieties relating to changing social landscapes? I mean the old mythological figures watching a mother and child...does that setup suggest these ancient fears have reemerged in some way? Curator: Precisely! It provokes thought about how anxieties are revived and given different visual forms based on historical and socio-political contexts. Considering Machine is a Stuckist, rebelling against conceptual art, is there a way this return to figuration a social comment? Editor: That makes so much sense. The deliberate "naive" style adds to this too, perhaps as a way of rejecting the artistic establishment, aligning with his broader critique of modern society? Curator: Exactly! Consider how the artist's style situates this within current discussions and reactions towards the establishment. Can "outsider art" status further reinforce an 'us versus them' dynamic. Editor: It’s like the style becomes a political statement in itself! So by linking the older anxieties to contemporary issues through folklore and “naïve art” language, he invites us to confront the persistent undercurrent of fear and prejudice that runs through society, and this particular work challenges conventional ways of viewing art history and current anxieties. Thank you, that was really illuminating. Curator: It's an ongoing conversation and further thinking is exactly what Machine’s art intends to spark. Thank you for your questions!