The Babylon Gallery hosts the work of Quentin Blake, as they showcase The BFG in Pictures touring exhibition from Tuesday 23rd November to Thursday 23rd December.
The BFG in Pictures is a touring exhibition from House of Illustration, featuring reproductions of Quentin Blake’s illustrations for Roald Dahl’s much-loved story The BFG.
The exhibition, curated by Quentin Blake, contains 40 reproductions, including illustrations not used when the book was first published in 1982. They chart the development of one of the most iconic characters in children’s literature and provide a glimpse of a BFG that might have been.
These are exhibited alongside reproductions of the final illustrations for the book, providing a fascinating insight into the collaboration between author and illustrator.
Quentin Blake says: “Roald Dahl and I were brought together by our publisher in the 1970s. Roald was an extraordinarily interesting person and a man of action, which is why he was so good at telling stories. He liked to tell stories about things happening, rather than about what people are thinking or feeling, which was wonderful for me to draw. Roald’s The BFG was first published by Jonathan Cape in 1982 in a hardback edition for which I did black-and-white illustrations and a design in colour for the cover. Since then the BFG and Sophie have appeared in a variety of books and situations. For this exhibition I have selected images from different versions of the BFG, starting with my first illustrations which remained unpublished for thirty years.”
Claire Somerville, chief executive of Babylon Arts added: “The exhibition at the Baylon Gallery, includes a creative activity for visitors to add a dream they would like to share, to a collection of 'dream jars' inspired by the story of the BFG. Suitable for all ages, the Gallery hopes to fill their shelves with colourful dreams and aspirations.
This exhibition is a really exciting one for us, as we get to bring the iconic work of Quentin Blake to Ely for the first time. The exhibition will be a great opportunity for people to get up close to these wonderful drawings and be inspired to read the book again. This is the first time we’ve worked with the House of Illustration and we’re delighted to be able to bring this important collection to rural Cambridgeshire.”
The BFG In Pictures exhibition is on at Babylon Gallery, Ely from Tuesday 23rd November until Thursday 23rd December and is open Tuesday to Sunday, 12pm to 4pm with free entry.
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