House of Music (Soca Boat)

Taking as his starting point a photograph of fishermen hoisting their catch onto the deck, Peter Doig gradually transformed this image into a painting, turning the sailors into musicians. 
The title of this piece refers to the song Dat Soca Boat, released in 1979 by Shadow, one of Trinidad’s main soca bands who helped create this modern form of calypso. In this song, the singer promises not to let “that soca boat” sink. Doig visualises this call in the painting. The artist worked for a long time in Trinidadin the Caribbean, where he spent part of his childhood before returning to London (England). His ethereal painting evokes a feeling of nostalgia, the blurred, floating quality of the brushwork suggesting the faraway sound of musicians sailing away from shore.