What are they saying? Tala Madani's work at Thin Skin: Viewed 30 August 2023

Madani, Tala. 2017. Lights in the Living Room. Painting, oil on canvas. Monash University Museum of Art, Victoria, Australia.

Photograph by Elizabeth Cole of Tala Madani's Lights in the Living Room, 2023.

Viewed on 30 August 2023, this slightly absurdist figurative work is my favourite from the thirty plus works in the exhibition Thin Skin at the Monash University Museum of Art. Its muted grey, green and yellow palette appeals aesthetically, while its whimsical nature intrigues me. At 35 by 41 cm, its relatively small size meant I had to get close to engage with the work. Long after I left the exhibition I still wonder if the figures are both human. Are they two old men chatting in a retirement home, one boring the other senseless, or is it a theatrical performance?

The learning for my practice is that works can transcend their physical size, and an intriguing composition can create multiple narrative possibilities.