'and to show you I'm not proud, you may shake hands with me!' 1970

Peter Blake made this picture, 'and to show you I'm not proud, you may shake hands with me!', and it looks like a dreamscape with Humpty Dumpty chilling on a wall. It’s got this kind of surreal, playful vibe, mixing childhood imagery with a slightly unsettling edge. I can imagine Blake piecing this together, layering images and ideas like he’s building a collage in his mind. I wonder if he was thinking about the fragility of identity when making this work? Humpty Dumpty, of course, is so vulnerable. I love how Blake mashes up these iconic figures with his own twist. He’s got this amazing knack for taking familiar images and turning them into something totally new. It reminds me of other artists who play with pop culture, like Andy Warhol, but with a more storybook feel. It’s like he’s inviting us to step into a world where anything is possible, and even nursery rhyme characters can get a little subversive. Ultimately, art is a conversation, right? We’re all riffing off each other, remixing ideas, and hopefully, creating something that sparks a little magic.