Inspired by a 2005 story of the same name by Portuguese writer Helia Correia, The Boy Who Loved the Sea is Paula Rego RA’s first UK public gallery exhibition in 10 years, and is centred around a new body of work. The vivid dreamlike paintings, drawings and sculptures on view in this (suitably) seaside gallery demonstrate that the 82-year-old artist’s storytelling powers are as potent as ever.
The Boy Who Loved the Sea and Other Stories is an exhibition full of colour and imagination. The eponymous tale was written by Hélia Correia in 2005 and centres on a child who believes that his father is the sea. Having never seen the ocean, he sets out, after a series of family tragedies, to reach the shore, but on doing so immediately dies. Rego’s illustrations for this tragic tale are vibrant and busy, packed with animals and characters, but the last image, that of the boy, lying naked and blue on the sand like a broken doll, the sea licking his feet, is comparatively sparse.
Drawing is at the heart of Rego’s work and this exhibition beautifully showcases the range of her skills.
Paula Rego: The Boy Who Loved the Sea and Other Stories. Jerwood Gallery, Hastings, until 7 January 2018.
