Bungo the Elephant by Tara c. 1972 - 1983

Editor: Barry Flanagan's "Bungo the Elephant by Tara," an etching held at the Tate, has this wonderfully whimsical, almost childlike quality. What imagery strikes you when you look at this piece? Curator: Indeed. The elephant itself, so abstracted, becomes a vessel for cultural memory. Elephants often symbolize wisdom and power, but here, softened, almost vulnerable. What echoes do you hear from art history? Consider cave paintings, perhaps? Editor: That's an interesting perspective. I was thinking about children's book illustrations, but I can see the connection to something much older. Curator: The surrounding symbols—the flower, the kite-like forms—feel like fragments of a dream, don't they? Each carries potential narratives and associations. What personal stories or feelings do they evoke in you? Editor: For me, it feels carefree, innocent. I didn't expect to find so much depth in what at first seemed simple. Curator: And that's the power of symbols: they are never simple. They invite us to continuously reinterpret our shared human experience.