Blake tackles the refugee crisis & mental health

Celebrated artist and illustrator Sir Quentin Blake explores challenging issues from mental health to the refugee crisis in his latest Hastings exhibtion.
Quentin Blake, We'll Get There SomehowQuentin Blake, We'll Get There Somehow
Quentin Blake, We'll Get There Somehow

The Only Way to Travel, which runs at the Jerwood Gallery until October 15, features extraordinary beasts, machines and narrative scenes, exploring themes such as dislocation, loneliness and depression.

Speaking about the title of the exhibition, Blake said: ‘I chose the title because it gives me the opportunity of doing a number of different kinds of pictures on related themes. Many are comic fantasy, some are more decorative and others have a suggestion of metaphorical significance, which allows me to explore human situations and feelings. I thought also that the idea of ways of travelling was something that almost anyone of any age might relate to, and help to lead them into the pictures’.

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With his fluid, energetic approach, Blake captures the vitality of the human spirit, exploring modern life and the creative mind in his distinctive and powerful style.

Blake studied English Literature at the University of Cambridge, life drawing at the Chelsea School of Art, and education at the London Institute of Education. He taught illustration for over twenty years at the Royal College of Art and has collaborated with many writers including Michael Rosen and Roald Dahl. Blake has written and illustrated two of his own books, Words and Pictures and Beyond the Page, and has worked on exhibitions and projects for museums, hospitals and public spaces in England and France. He has received a knighthood and a Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur. He lives and works in London and Hastings.

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