Variation on the Form of an Anchor 1939

Curator: Tristram Hillier's "Variation on the Form of an Anchor," held in the Tate collection, presents us with... well, what do you make of it? Editor: Monumental! It feels like some forgotten industrial-age god washed up on the shore. There's a strange stillness about it, despite the abstract shapes. Curator: Indeed. Hillier, though associated with Surrealism, often played with these juxtapositions of the man-made and the natural world. The anchor, traditionally a symbol of steadfastness, is re-imagined, almost defamiliarized, through his unique lens. Editor: Anchors are very phallic symbols, aren't they? So maybe it's a playful commentary on masculinity, stranded and full of holes. The shapes, the voids, have a distinctly visceral quality. Curator: A potent interpretation! The negative space does create a sense of vulnerability, even within that imposing form. It challenges our expectations of what an anchor signifies. Editor: I love how Hillier invites us to reimagine something so ordinary. It's both unsettling and strangely beautiful. Curator: Exactly! I think that's where Hillier thrives—in that tension between familiarity and the unexpected.