Artists' studios: Paula Rego
'Once it is bare I want to fill it up again'
'Once it is bare I want to fill it up again'
guardian.co.uk
Article history
I live in Hampstead and my studio is a short bus ride away in Kentish Town. I come here every day except Sunday. It used to be a wood workshop and gets marvellous daylight. There's a lot of wall space. Once it is bare I want to fill it up again.
Along with more paintings next door, this is a whole year's work. The pictures here are from a series called "Human Cargo", about women who are transported from one country to another to be sold. The mannequins are my props. I make them with my assistant, Lila, from plastic skeletons used by medical students, covered with cotton wool and stockings. I set up the scene and then try to draw it. The man is holding a flower with a dong - it could be a tongue and it could be a phallus - to try to inspire the women. That was improvised at the last moment. I also use live models. In the picture at the front, you can see Lila is sitting on the cases and also crouched at the front. At the back there's a fat, blind sister; she's part of a story based on an incident in Portugal, where a blind woman was put outside in all weathers by her jealous sister until eventually her heart gave in.
One of the walls has wardrobes full of things to dress my props and models, along with props from other pictures, huge stuffed spiders and monkeys and all sorts. One box just has wigs in it. It is like in a theatre. The case has an accordion in it that was used in another picture; everything is used in different forms at different times.
You can see stacks of records along the wall. I love listening to opera while I work. Next door I have a very long table where I draw from my head, some-times just to see ideas before I set them up. Because I am telling a story, one picture comes after the other, so it is very helpful to see them all hanging together. This room is where I make the big pictures. I'm always changing it around, making scenes and setting it up to tell different stories.
This article was first published on guardian.co.uk on Friday May 09 2008. It was last updated at 12:18 on July 22 2008.
Article history
I live in Hampstead and my studio is a short bus ride away in Kentish Town. I come here every day except Sunday. It used to be a wood workshop and gets marvellous daylight. There's a lot of wall space. Once it is bare I want to fill it up again.
Along with more paintings next door, this is a whole year's work. The pictures here are from a series called "Human Cargo", about women who are transported from one country to another to be sold. The mannequins are my props. I make them with my assistant, Lila, from plastic skeletons used by medical students, covered with cotton wool and stockings. I set up the scene and then try to draw it. The man is holding a flower with a dong - it could be a tongue and it could be a phallus - to try to inspire the women. That was improvised at the last moment. I also use live models. In the picture at the front, you can see Lila is sitting on the cases and also crouched at the front. At the back there's a fat, blind sister; she's part of a story based on an incident in Portugal, where a blind woman was put outside in all weathers by her jealous sister until eventually her heart gave in.
One of the walls has wardrobes full of things to dress my props and models, along with props from other pictures, huge stuffed spiders and monkeys and all sorts. One box just has wigs in it. It is like in a theatre. The case has an accordion in it that was used in another picture; everything is used in different forms at different times.
You can see stacks of records along the wall. I love listening to opera while I work. Next door I have a very long table where I draw from my head, some-times just to see ideas before I set them up. Because I am telling a story, one picture comes after the other, so it is very helpful to see them all hanging together. This room is where I make the big pictures. I'm always changing it around, making scenes and setting it up to tell different stories.
This article was first published on guardian.co.uk on Friday May 09 2008. It was last updated at 12:18 on July 22 2008.
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