Paula Rego's latest exhibition, which explores her collaboration with Martin McDonagh on his play 'The Pillowman', sheds light on the artist's life-long preoccupations and personal demons. The show focuses on a three-year period between 2005-2007, during which Rego developed an innovative practice of drawing and painting from scenarios she constructed in her studio. This body of work, often referred to as the 'McDonagh series', saw Rego drawn into McDonagh's stories about torture, murder, and children.
Rego was deeply moved by the play's portrayal of a totalitarian state where imagination is ruthlessly policed. The artist herself had known such oppression during Portugal's dictatorship under António de Oliveira Salazar. This shared experience sparked an intense emotional connection between Rego and McDonagh. Their exchange of stories not only saw Rego drawn into McDonagh's narratives but also revealed her own personal struggles with family trauma, loss, and her tumultuous relationship with depression.
One particular story by McDonagh - a tale of a piglet praying to be saved from slaughter by a scarecrow it had earlier rescued from a wildfire - took hold of Rego. The resulting paintings depict the scarecrow as a crucified woman with a cow's skull, who towers above a decapitated pig's head, accompanied by a sleeping girl representing her guilt over allowing their inheritance to go up in flames.
Rego's 'Pillowman' was also influenced by her childhood experiences. As an art student at London's Slade School of Fine Art, she had several backstreet abortions herself before giving birth to her first daughter under the strict laws of a society hell-bent on outlawing young women like her. The trauma of these events is palpable in some paintings from this period.
The exhibition showcases Rego's unflinching portrayal of life and death. In 'Pillowman', her personal demons are intertwined with McDonagh's narratives, evoking powerful images that seem to oscillate between beauty and grotesquery. This complex relationship between Rego's past experiences and the fictional worlds brought to life by McDonagh has created a visual narrative which leaves audiences both disturbed and moved.
The exhibition at Cristea Roberts Gallery in London now focuses on one of Rego's most intriguing collaborations, offering viewers a glimpse into an artist known for tackling difficult subjects head-on.
Rego was deeply moved by the play's portrayal of a totalitarian state where imagination is ruthlessly policed. The artist herself had known such oppression during Portugal's dictatorship under António de Oliveira Salazar. This shared experience sparked an intense emotional connection between Rego and McDonagh. Their exchange of stories not only saw Rego drawn into McDonagh's narratives but also revealed her own personal struggles with family trauma, loss, and her tumultuous relationship with depression.
One particular story by McDonagh - a tale of a piglet praying to be saved from slaughter by a scarecrow it had earlier rescued from a wildfire - took hold of Rego. The resulting paintings depict the scarecrow as a crucified woman with a cow's skull, who towers above a decapitated pig's head, accompanied by a sleeping girl representing her guilt over allowing their inheritance to go up in flames.
Rego's 'Pillowman' was also influenced by her childhood experiences. As an art student at London's Slade School of Fine Art, she had several backstreet abortions herself before giving birth to her first daughter under the strict laws of a society hell-bent on outlawing young women like her. The trauma of these events is palpable in some paintings from this period.
The exhibition showcases Rego's unflinching portrayal of life and death. In 'Pillowman', her personal demons are intertwined with McDonagh's narratives, evoking powerful images that seem to oscillate between beauty and grotesquery. This complex relationship between Rego's past experiences and the fictional worlds brought to life by McDonagh has created a visual narrative which leaves audiences both disturbed and moved.
The exhibition at Cristea Roberts Gallery in London now focuses on one of Rego's most intriguing collaborations, offering viewers a glimpse into an artist known for tackling difficult subjects head-on.
I mean, Paula Rego's work has always been pretty intense, but this collaboration with Martin McDonagh on 'The Pillowman' takes it to a whole new level. It's like she took all her personal demons and put them on full display for the world to see...and honestly, it's kinda beautiful in a morbid way? 
The stories she drew from McDonagh's play are so vividly unsettling - I mean, who wouldn't want to draw a piglet praying to be saved by a scarecrow while simultaneously depicting a crucified woman with a cow's skull? 
. like, i can relate to feeling overwhelmed by the world around you, especially when dealing with trauma and depression. anyway, what really caught my eye was how she took this scary story from martin mcdonagh and turned it into something almost... mesmerizing? 
it's like she found a way to make the darkness shine through her art. but at the same time, you can't help but feel a little uneasy while looking at these pieces 
. still, gotta admire her bravery in sharing this side of herself with the world 
️ it's both haunting and mesmerizing at the same time. i love how she takes these heavy themes and turns them into something almost beautiful, like the scarecrow painting – it's like you're looking into the eyes of someone who's been through hell 
but still manages to hold on to this quiet strength 
I'm just not sure I'd want to spend my Saturday afternoon looking at paintings of torture and murder, you know? 
as an artist, i think she's a total inspiration to anyone who dares to explore the darker corners of life.