Hand-rolling Machine; to Wash Potatoes 

Editor: So, this is a pencil drawing called "Hand-rolling Machine; to Wash Potatoes" by James Ward. It feels… almost like a diagram. Very technical, even though it's a hand-drawn sketch. What's your interpretation? Curator: This piece speaks to the intersection of labor, technology, and daily life. What kind of feeling do you have when observing its lines? It may appear mundane, however, this simple design opens up considerations of symbolism such as the industrial revolution and shifting class structure. Notice how it resembles architectural renderings— the bare minimum, emphasizing pure utilitarianism. Consider, the potato - at the time was also culturally and politically loaded symbol of sustenance. Editor: I see what you mean. So, it's not just about the machine itself, but what it represents – this societal shift and reliance on mechanization, particularly in agriculture. Do you think the sketch style contributes to that? Curator: Absolutely. The stark lines are powerful, stripping away any romanticism about rural life and leaving a focus on the cold, hard functionality of labor. What if this machine and all it represented replaced organic manual labour completely? Editor: I didn’t consider the romanticisation piece… It adds a new dimension. I initially took the image as a simple, straightforward blueprint; yet the very deliberate lines speak to societal anxiety toward industrialisation. Curator: Exactly! Its diagrammatic precision carries that sense of burgeoning change, a cultural and psychological anticipation as much as technical rendering. It encourages us to reflect, what symbols will persist over time, in connection with culture, economy, and psychological expectation?