The World Between 2016

Curator: What catches my eye immediately about this painting is how the figures seem to be emerging from a sort of dreamlike fog. Editor: Exactly! The way the forms sort of dissolve and re-materialize gives it that feel. What’s the piece called? Curator: This is "The World Between," a 2016 acrylic on canvas work by contemporary artist Joshua Flint. It's interesting how the artist uses acrylic in this way. The application is both translucent and opaque at once. Editor: It makes me think of memory. Like fragmented glimpses into the past, refusing to quite solidify into something concrete. It feels so fleeting and… ethereal. It makes me almost nostalgic, which is odd, considering I don’t even know what I am looking at. Curator: The faceless figures intensify that feeling, doesn’t it? I notice how, although they're individuals, they almost blend, which could evoke a sense of interconnectedness that transcends individual identities. Perhaps touching upon our shared human experiences that time obscures. Also, the positioning of these figures is deliberate. Note the individual pulling the sheet or blanket—she seems to guard or hide, as two more are inert below. This suggests relationships: guardianship, caregiving. But what event has just occurred, one is compelled to ask. Editor: Yeah! I see how that central figure interacts with those who seem… unconscious. I like what you say, "obscured," not dead. And then there’s the third figure, in the top right, that you just clocked. The whole composition, combined with these roses throughout the piece, carries such weight. The flowers hint at both love and transience, the temporary beauty, which makes this image so poignant. It's almost cinematic. I find myself inventing a story about these people, these… players. Curator: Yes, "cinematic" indeed! That highlights an underlying narrative structure. A memory unfolding or a myth being reenacted. The absence of distinct features may allow each viewer to project their own story, their own emotional history, onto these figures. They act as containers for our shared experience, allowing this singular narrative to transform into a shared experience. It really shows that Flint's painting isn't just depicting an image. It evokes entire psychological landscapes, does it not? Editor: Absolutely. It's amazing how one image can act like a Rorschach test. Joshua Flint manages to convey so much ambiguity with so few concrete details. I really enjoyed letting it unfold this way.