Images: Jonathan Rae
Words: Saskia Edwards
It has been said that a happy childhood is
the worst preparation for life. And perhaps that’s true. Childhood can be
traumatic. Just ask anyone who mistook Animal
Farm for a kid’s cartoon. But the fear and angst can often be a necessary
part of development.
When you enter the IMA’s Playtime exhibition there’s a distinct
warning that it’s not for children. While many of the artworks may ostensibly
seem infantile, they’re laced with poignant and sometimes distressing meanings
– abandonment, abuse and violence.
On entry are Jenny Watson’s innocent
paintings. But directly opposing this are the graphic and vulgar illustrations
by Peter Robinson. The contrast serves to highlight a point: perhaps only
through a child-like guise can we truly see that the world often isn’t the picturesque
illusion of our childhood.
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