Wreck: A Story of Art and Survival

Tom de Freston's obsession with Géricault's painting The Raft of the Medusa and his personal reckoning with the story behind it delve into the making of an artwork and the translation of violence, fear, and trauma into art.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 352 pages
Publication date: 02 March 2023
Publisher: Granta Books

Artist Tom de Freston has long been captivated by Géricault's monumental painting, The Raft of the Medusa. The painting, which hangs in the Louvre, depicts a 19th-century tragedy in which 150 people were drowned at sea on a raft lost in a stormy sea when the ship Medusa was wrecked on shallow ground. When de Freston began creating an artwork with Ali, a Syrian writer blinded by a bombing, the depiction of pain and suffering in The Raft resonated powerfully with him, as did Géricault's own tragic life story. The painting spoke not only to Ali's story but to Tom's family history of trauma and anguish, offering him a way out of the dark waters in which he found himself.

In his captivating and visceral prose, de Freston opens a window onto the magnetic frisson that exists between a past masterpiece and contemporary artistic endeavors. He asks powerful questions about how we can translate violence, fear, and trauma into art, how we attempt to make sense of seemingly unthinkable acts, and the value in facing and depicting the darkest horrors.

Through his artwork, de Freston explores the complexities of human experience and the power of art to heal and transform. The Raft of the Medusa serves as a powerful reminder of the human capacity for resilience and compassion, even in the face of unimaginable tragedy.

Weight: 248g
Dimension: 198 x 129 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781783786657