The Wake

Created for the Exhibition: A Boy with a Leg Named Brian: Memoirs by Pete McKee

'To this day, I have no idea who took me to see Live and Let Die. I know she wore glasses and behaved in an odd, concerned, sympathetic manner towards me – but that’s about it. Truly, the only thing I remember properly about that day was returning home, entering the house and finding it full of sad people. It hit me like a ton of bricks: I’d been taken to the pictures so that I didn’t have to go to my mum’s funeral. With their old-fashioned values, they thought they were doing what was best and it was in my interest not to attend. With hindsight, that was the wrong choice. It’s true I was too young to fully comprehend what had happened – but again this was partly down to the “need to know” basis that shields kids from understanding 90% of the things that adults make decisions about, and which leads to expensive therapy sessions for those children when they grow up. Maybe I would have found the funeral traumatic. Maybe I would have looked on in an abstract out-of-body experience. Or maybe I’d have just been bored and spent most of the time fidgeting and staring at people wondering who they all were. But I never had the chance to find out. Fifty years later here I am drawing pictures and writing stories about it – which saves money on therapy.' 

Product Options:

Unframed Art Print:
Small: 40cm x 56cm
Large: 50cm x 70cm
Printed on high-quality paper with a white border.
Collect in store in 1 - 4 days
Items must be collected within 30 days of receiving the ‘Ready for Collection’ email. Please review our Collection Policy on the Delivery and Collections page.
Delivery in 3 - 5 days

Framed Art Print:
Small: 43cm x 59cm (approx)
Large: 53cm x 73cm (approx)
Mounted in a bespoke glass, black angled frame by our local framer.

Please note our frame profile has changed slightly due to stock of our original frame style being discontinued. There is a slight visible difference if you are buying a frame to sit next to an existing one. Please contact us before ordering if you are unsure.

Collection in store in 4 - 10 days
Items must be collected within 30 days of receiving the ‘Ready for Collection’ email. Please review our Collection Policy on the Delivery and Collections page.
Delivery in 9 - 10 days

Mini Prints
Size: 25cm x 31cm
Fixings for the picture to be hung on your wall or stood on a desk or shelf.
Mounted in a bespoke glass, black angled frame by our local framer.
Collection in store in 4 - 10 days
Items must be collected within 30 days of receiving the ‘Ready for Collection’ email. Please review our Collection Policy on the Delivery and Collections page.
Delivery in 9 - 10 days