Untitled 2010

Curator: This is an Untitled acrylic on canvas work by Paul du Toit, created in 2010. What's your initial take? Editor: Woah, total fragmented face vibes! Like if Picasso and Basquiat had a love child. It's a bit unsettling, with those bold outlines and the wonky geometry. Feels like a raw, almost primal scream on canvas, doesn't it? Curator: It definitely evokes strong emotions. Du Toit’s style often draws from both Pop Art and abstract expressionism, creating these deliberately crude, caricature-like figures. He used bold colours here - yellow, orange, reds, greens. How do these colours play on your perception of primal screams? Editor: Well, primal screams are messy, right? Untamed. Yellow has this sort of anxious energy, especially juxtaposed with that melancholic orange in the eye-like shape at the top. Red's the raw nerve. The bright, almost cartoonish hues are juxtaposed by the dark black that both bind and separate the individual aspects of this supposed 'face'. So it feels playful, but deeply unnerving, like a clown's sad, dark secret. Curator: It is the tension. Looking through a psychological lens, those fragmented shapes could represent fractured identity. Perhaps referencing psychological trauma and the disjointed self. Do you sense any historical echo? Editor: Absolutely! This recalls a bit of that Dadaist disruption, especially the way it rejects conventional representation, mirroring that post-WWI disillusionment. It's as if the artist is saying, "Hey, reality's shattered, and art should reflect that chaos!". Also, this abstract pop-art feel could be a reference to cultural memory and modern identity in the late 20th century. Curator: An eloquent observation! So we have moved through the historical, psychological and expressive values of the piece. Editor: Absolutely! The way those clashing shapes somehow harmonize creates a really unique tension that resonates long after you've walked away from it. It will sit with you and stir thoughts. Curator: Indeed. This piece showcases how contemporary artworks often operate as visual time capsules.