150 years ago, communication was revolutionised. The successful laying of cable along the floor of the Atlantic ocean meant that exchanges that would have taken weeks by ship, were possible within a single day.
This groundbreaking technology captivated Victorian society and how it conceived of itself in time and space. Artists responded in visual terms to the newly connected world, the hostile landscape, changed perceptions of distance, and the idea of sending/receiving messages, coding and decoding. Read more.
![Masterpiece [Re]discovery 2022. Photo: Ben Fisher Photography, courtesy of Masterpiece London](http://www.apollo-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/MPL2022_4263.jpg)
Has arts punditry become a perk for politicos?