Sweet Wishes
Mark Ryden and Marion
Peck
Porterhouse Fine Art
Editions 2008
Web: http://www.porterhouseart.com
Mark Ryden’s work is a fascinating enigma, on one level it
has always seemed to me to be a form of surrealism with strong symbolic
elements. However, these are expressed through contemporary and historical images, pop culture figures and
even what could be considered a kitsch of iconography. This mixture of the
surreal and pop culture, religious and profane, unconscious and conscious
creates a “dynamic clash” which is quite unique to his work and why he is so
popular.
Sweet Wishes is a prime example of both the quality of his
work in a visual sense and his unusual sense of play. Adapted from a short film
by himself and Marion Peck, this is a fairytale presented using a doll, a baby doll and a teddy bear and lots of cake
and food. It is beautifully presented in rich textured images with an
impeccable sense of colour and presentation. It is a strange book in that it
presents such an innocence yet you are unsure of what is actually being communicated,
there is something edgy about dolls, baby and teddy bears overindulging !
On one level it is the tale of Doll, Bear and Baby whose wish
is granted by a fairy. Their collective desire is for food goodies and lots of
them and they eat until they are sick. The strange images of dolls, bears and
babies covered in food and then vomiting are both appealing and repelling. The
book ends as they all agree they would do it again if they had a chance – an
observation on human nature for all ages if there is one.
This is a lovely 56 page hardback volume of superior quality,
high definition images and with a quirky and unusual tale !