Aphrodite Escapes Possibly 1970

Curator: Ann Brunskill's print, "Aphrodite Escapes," possibly from 1970, utilizes ink in a rather unique way, setting a stage for a contemplation on boundaries and transformation. Editor: My first impression is...constrained hope. It's as if the figure in the bottom frame is yearning towards the shape above, an almost formless, freeing form in the sky. Curator: Brunskill's technique appears almost deliberately imperfect. We see the handmade labor—the etching, the bite of the acid, the evidence of craft in every line, resisting the smooth polish of mechanical reproduction. The image isn’t just about representation; it’s about process. Editor: I agree. There’s a wonderful rawness to it. And that contrast is key. The confined figure with its tentative wings formed by plates contrasts sharply with the flowing shape overhead, suggesting an idea trying to become…what? Liberation? The lines on that cloudy form appear almost botanical, as though the potential for the confined figure could blossom from this liberation. It makes you feel there is both a beautiful sense of hope, and a tinge of tragedy about the constrained figure. Curator: Considering the title, we might interpret that upper, flowing shape as Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, liberated and transformed into…something else. But the materiality betrays any illusion of divine perfection. We see the ink, the process, reminding us of the labor and even the industry behind its creation. The dark areas create such a distinct, definite framing of the seated figure. Editor: The 'imperfections' also heighten the feeling of a dream or a fleeting memory. Aphrodite is escaping but where is she going, and what does she represent there, a promise, a lie, a delusion? Perhaps all three. As to my eye, she appears almost pained, which contradicts any assumptions about liberation. The drawing teeters on the verge of both. Curator: Precisely! It disrupts our idealized notions of divine beauty or effortless creation by placing an emphasis on labor. It urges us to reconsider what escape really means and its relationship to earthly existence. Editor: A little bleak perhaps but also powerfully poignant, I would say. Art about art. The ultimate meta reflection. Curator: I think it offers a perspective about how artistic expression both stems from, and inevitably gets tied up in, its modes of production. Editor: True, true, perhaps there’s a glimmer of something triumphant still.