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Granta Books will publish a "visceral work of non-fiction" by the artist Tom de Freston.
Bella Lacey, publishing director of Granta Books, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights excluding Canada from Harriet Moore at David Higham. Wreck: The Art of Being Lost at Sea will publish in Autumn 2021.
Wreck is the "exploration of de Freston’s obsession with the painting 'The Raft of the Medusa' by Theodore Gericault, and how it has impacted his life, his work and his understanding of his relationship with his father," reads the synopsis. "De Freston explores the history of the painting, which depicts the shipwreck of the Méduse, Gericault’s personal turmoil in its making, and de Freston's artistic response to it, asking powerful questions about how we might translate violence, fear and trauma into art, and the value to be found in facing and depicting the darkest horrors."
Lacey said: "Wreck is an electric response to a masterpiece, by an artist whose own work has been significantly influenced by Gericault. De Freston’s immediate, raw and spellbinding writing on 'The Raft of the Medusa' - as if he is literally inside the painting - opens a window onto his own creative processes and the magnetic frisson that runs between a past master and contemporary artistic processes. I’m delighted to welcome de Freston to the Granta list."