Relay 

Curator: This oil painting is entitled "Relay" by Sabin Balasa. What strikes you when you first look at it? Editor: The immediate feeling is one of coolness, both literally in its icy color palette and figuratively. There's a dreamlike stillness despite the figures appearing to move. The combination is quite arresting. Curator: It's an interesting observation. I am drawn to the figures themselves. Note the human figures atop the seals – traditionally seals carry a symbolic weight, representing adaptability, resourcefulness, but also a connection to the subconscious. Does that interpretation resonate at all with your understanding of art’s place in the world? Editor: I do think art shapes the way society subconsciously engages with certain imagery. A scene such as this prompts interesting thoughts, namely, what relationship exists here between humanity and nature? Why present them so... interlinked? Is this Balasa highlighting our dependency or our ability to master our surroundings? Curator: Perhaps both, or perhaps a warning of the blurred lines between those concepts. Balasa was, after all, working within a socialist regime that had its own ideas about humanity’s relationship with the environment and with each other. I read the painting in the context of a Romanian cultural memory filled with folklore and also political and social commentaries about life. Editor: Knowing Balasa's socio-political environment certainly adds a new layer. Do you think audiences at the time might have viewed this differently, perhaps assigning a rebellious undertone to it? Curator: Potentially. The almost ethereal quality might have allowed viewers to project their own dissenting thoughts onto the scene. Art always operates on multiple levels. The stillness, the implied movement, seals of lore, the symbolism behind the very concept of a relay, where knowledge, power or secrets are carried... It creates something special. Editor: It’s funny how a seemingly simple painting can open up so many avenues of thought. It shows how potent imagery, regardless of when or where it was made, can transcend its immediate context. Curator: Exactly. It invites us to keep exploring, keep questioning, and keep finding new ways to relay the art to others.