Canto XXXIV: [no title] 1983

Curator: Esq Tom Phillips' "Canto XXXIV," part of his project "A Humument," feels like a hidden map. It's intimate, almost like peering into someone's mind through a keyhole. Editor: I see it as a layered intervention, a palimpsest of meaning where Phillips reclaims a Victorian novel, revealing verses of resistance against dominant narratives and reclaiming marginalized voices. Curator: The way he obscures and reveals text reminds me of memories surfacing and fading, that feeling of trying to grasp something just out of reach. Editor: Yes, and the fragmentation of language mirrors the fragmentation of identity under oppressive systems, echoing the struggles for recognition and self-determination. Curator: It's amazing how he takes something old and makes it new again, recycling and rethinking our relationship to the past. Editor: Absolutely. It is a powerful commentary on the enduring relevance of historical struggles within contemporary sociopolitical landscapes. Curator: I'll certainly think about this artwork more deeply after our conversation. Editor: Me too; it has certainly complicated and enriched my perception of it.