This, That And The Other 1985

Curator: Here we have Richard Deacon’s sculpture "This, That and The Other" created in 1985. It’s a mixed-media construction, predominantly featuring metal elements. What are your initial thoughts? Editor: There’s an odd tension in this piece. It seems so substantial, grounded in its materiality, yet there’s an undeniable lightness conveyed by the looping form. Almost playful, wouldn’t you say? Curator: It reminds me of a serpent, or perhaps a length of intestine laid bare for examination. The smooth grey curve at its base sits like a keystone for the work. It appears to cradle or maybe conceal a core narrative that is rooted in personal history. Editor: Ah, interesting take. From a formal perspective, I'm drawn to the contrasting textures: the smoothness of the darker element against the porous, almost patterned surface of the upper loop. That loop itself has such strong line quality, doesn't it? The negative space it creates is just as important as the material itself. Curator: The repetitive patterns certainly lend themselves to that interpretation. The circularity of the overarching image references our internal symbolic landscapes; think about a Mobius strip – ever changing yet eternally consistent. I suspect the title reflects how interconnected so much of lived experience actually is. Editor: Do you see any semiotic value here? For me it has qualities recalling Brancusi’s approach, how forms speak to simplicity, allowing material qualities to lead. Curator: Definitely a stripping-down approach, one aligned with much Postmodern theory: that one must continually look behind the constructed structures of thought in order to deconstruct ideas in the world, with this sculpture working as some form of diagram. A complex idea simplified, abstracted, and reduced to the very thing being examined. Editor: Yes, precisely. Well, thinking through this now I find its strange construction much more stimulating than initially perceived. The artist uses found or created objects, giving them voice with unique placement. Curator: Ultimately the success lies in his ability to bring the unseen into focus. What at first seems disparate reveals deeper threads if we permit time to see them.