Miss Grace’s Lane 1986 - 1987

Curator: This is Keith Arnatt's "Miss Grace’s Lane," a photograph in the Tate collection. The dimensions of the support are 254 x 202 mm. Editor: It has a kind of ghostly, melancholic feel to it. What’s with the floral-patterned plastic? Curator: Exactly. Plastic and flowers often signify imposed beauty, but here, it's a shroud, obscuring nature. The plastic might symbolize artificiality and humanity's attempt to control nature. Editor: I see how the plastic is doing symbolic work, but it is also a mass-produced item. What does this tell us about labor, production, and waste? Curator: Perhaps the artist wanted us to reflect on how these pretty surfaces mask the darker realities of consumerism. Editor: It has certainly given me much to contemplate. Curator: For me too, especially the tension between what's concealed and revealed.