Where do I start? William Kentridge at the Royal Academy left me completely overwhelmed as there was so much to take in. I honestly don’t know if anyone can handle so much in one visit. I’ve been twice so far, have read the catalogue and downloaded the app so feel slightly better…
I’ll concentrate here on one aspect of the show and the core of Kentridge’s practice – his drawing. Drawings are the first thing we see when entering the show and they are a wonder.
Some of his early pieces remind me of theatre sets with their unusual perspective
This woman holding a hyena is intentionally unsettling – I marvel at the liveliness of the mark-making.
Kentridge makes films from them, drawing and erasing using the painstaking technique of stop-motion animation
Here’s a still from one.
They also form the basis, alongside collage, for a series of huge tapestries.
The show ends on the 11th December and I’ve been recommending it to almost everyone I meet.
I too will be returning for another look.
