How The Queen Sees Her Empire part 1

Painting an idyllic psychedelic dream


It did not matter if you liked them or not, Here was an opportunity to see in detail the level of art that museums such as the Museum of Modern Art or the Tate exhibit, and the influences which Trinidad and Tobago had transcended itself though two British Contemporary painters. This was an art opening where curiosity packed the house, and in particular to see the paintings by Peter Doig and Chris Ofili in a show entitled, a suitable distance, the impressions of Trinidad by five international artists.


In Trinidad and Tobago, people protect themselves from the scorching heat by using an large umbrella, Doig paints this object with a kaleidoscope of colour. The parasol is an accessory which he incorporates in his work.

Music of the future is a fairly large oil, (143x95'' 2005) and it is a narrative of Trinidad by Peter Doig. It is surreal and whimsical at best and the subject appears to be a typical Sunday cookup set somewhere down the island, yet it is a place unclear to define.

Divided into three horizontal and equal divisions, the centre of painting is mired with dwellings on stilts with a large structure comprising of coloured stones as part of the outer décor. The rusting roof gives it a mosaic look with some sort of social gathering in inside. There are streamer that draped across two structures amidst an atmosphere of fanning smoke to keep a barbeque going, otherwise as the focal point of the cookup.


The artist applies globs of paint to give a particular accent to an individual

Music of the future has a whimsical impression of Edouard Manet’s loose painterly quality. Doig simplifies this further. The painting is somewhat panoramic with odds and ends and people seem to walk precariously at the water’s edge, while others are reclining on beach towels. This is what Trinidadians call limers. There is also a bandstand that seems out of place and a white public bench that is so large and it gives the work a flat and childlike appeal. In addition, the artist applies globs of paint to give a particular accent, this may be the colour of an individual's shirt. He also applies a wash of greens and blues to the lower half of the canvas as to mirror the refection of water, tranquil as it seems. A boat is anchored at the lowered right, and dabs of black and long white strokes indicate bathers in the sea. A worthy note is that Mr. Doig is able to control the areas where the wash should stop running, and this may be done by tilting the large canvas.

Music of the future has a rich intensity in colour, and the work is most likely to be termed exotic on an international level. It may be confusing to most people as there is no reference point of a place that is so idyllic like a sort of psychedelic dream. Doig's painting could be construed as a just a crude pictorial scene, losing the subtleness of how the artist envisioned Trinidad. Music of the future = Limers down the islands.
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It is be noted that Mr. Doig clarified that the concept of this painting comes from postcards from Indian merged with the elements from the Queen's Park Savannah in Trinidad.