Peter Doig
2019-2
200 x 250 cm
Peter Doig based this painting on a photograph of fishermen holding aloft their catch. He transformed the image in paint, turning the fishermen into musicians. Doig took his title from a song called ‘Dat Soca Boat’ (1979) by Shadow (1941– 2018), one of Trinidad’s most famous soca musicians who helped to define this modern form of calypso. Shadow sings of his passion for music and not wanting to sink ‘dat soca boat’. Doig gives visual form to the idea of soca music being a boat at sea. His painting has an ethereal quality that makes everything feel just out of reach. As the boat sails past, it is as if the music can be heard but only in the distance.