Paula Rego

I saw this exhibition in August 20212 when London was still relatively empty. It was at Tate Britain and I went with my family which was a wonderful treat after the confinement of the pandemic lockdown rules.

I was so blown away. She is such a massively powerful painter. I’d like to write the way she paints, larger than life, massive, strong, emotional and almost cruel.  She does not flinch from anything: abortion, childbirth, abuse both emotional and physical. But her female figures generally tower over any scene she creates, huge, powerful creatures you most certainly wouldn't mess with. Standing in front of e.g. The Policeman's Daughter, or Angel is an actually frightening experience, in the way that fairy tales can be pleasurably terrifying. These figures are gleeful, passionate, stern and capable of anything.  Even the beautiful and romantic The Dance brings discomfort in the shape of the woman standing on her own to one side of the dancers. What is she thinking and what is she about to do? Or has she just decided that you are better off dancing on your own? Or simply she has decided this is what we all do really, and this does not diminish us. 

The whole experience - the scale of it, the beauty - was just what I needed. Art is so important! I have missed it, still miss it.