Circumvent 

Editor: This is “Circumvent” by Sarah Joncas, a painting showing a young man adjusting his tie, and what strikes me is how the industrial setting behind him creates this unsettling feeling. What’s your take on it? Curator: The painting immediately brings to mind the socio-political context of environmental awareness and the responsibilities placed on younger generations. The subject's act of adjusting his tie feels less like preparing for professional success and more like a symbolic gesture of taking on the burden of a polluted world. Do you think that's a fair interpretation? Editor: I do. It makes me think about the tension between personal aspirations and larger societal issues. The factories and smoke really bring that out, setting him against a problem he has little control over individually. Curator: Exactly. Joncas uses the portrait format, traditionally reserved for celebrating status, to present a figure caught in the web of industrial progress and its discontents. The bluish monochrome lends the scene a melancholic tone. Is it a condemnation, or perhaps a more nuanced reflection? Editor: Maybe it's both. It shows the weight of the situation without necessarily pointing fingers. It's thought-provoking because it's so subtle. Curator: I agree. It’s a commentary on the psychological impact of environmental issues, highlighting the individual’s struggle within a system. It prompts us to question who benefits and who bears the cost of industrial "progress". Editor: I hadn't considered it in that way before, focusing more on individual responsibility, but you’re right, the societal structures at play here are a central part of what the artist is highlighting. Curator: These historical undercurrents help to expose power relations imbedded within art’s visual narratives, revealing the role of institutions that are involved with exhibiting Joncas’s art and framing a message on what they perceive "progress" to be. Editor: I'll definitely look at portraiture differently now, with this cultural baggage in mind.