The Five Children 2009

Carmen Delaco painted ‘The Five Children’ with what looks like oil on canvas, but there's no date on it. She's dealing with the materiality of oil, pushing it around, letting it drip and stain. I like the way the paint is thin, almost translucent in places, and then thick and clotted in others. Look at the way the eyes of the children are blank, almost empty, whilst the redness of the skin is built up through multiple layers of paint. I think there is something about the tension between the representation of the body and the paint itself that is deeply compelling. It reminds me of Marlene Dumas’ earlier works, where she used thin washes of paint to create a sense of fragility and vulnerability. Like Dumas, Delaco is interested in how we can use paint to explore difficult and painful subjects. Art doesn’t have to be pretty, it can be messy and raw and still be beautiful.