Burgh-Le-Marsh Furnishings

Mark Edwards

Over the years Mark has illustrated literally hundreds of book covers for authors such as Kingsley Amis, Beryl Bainbridge, Sue Townsend, Philip Pullman (Sally Lockhart Quartet' recently portrayed by Billie Piper in the BBC adaptation) But also picture books such as ‘The Sand Children' by Joyce Dunbar and the ‘Narnia Chronology' by CS Lewis ( published in May 08)

Mark Edwards - Arrival of the Stranger.
"As this series of paintings develop, I am increasingly aware that certain characters or events (like the recent appearance of a steam train and the shadow of a man with a balloon, not to mention Derek) may eventually explain what this white wood and its male inhabitants are all about. I have to be honest though and admit that the more I delve into this strange alternative world the more absorbed and less certain I become.

Interestingly, whenever family or friends pop into the studio and see the work in progress they invariably project their own interpretation of the scene. Russian ‘John Le Carrier' spies from the eastern block seem a regular theme.

But for me it's far more surreal and intangible…occasionally humorous, sometimes disturbing.

These men in hats and coats dressed from a different era appear isolated, even when in groups…they inhabit a wood that seems not only to define them and protect them, but also occasionally threaten.

Whether they are really there or just ghosts of the past, and that the wood is not one wood but many, I'm still unsure.

It would be too grandiose to suggest the paintings are a metaphor for the isolation we all on occasions feel …….But the ‘White Wood' appears to promote personal interpretation….and that I find immensely absorbing.
The bowler-hatted gentlemen may appear ambiguous but somehow I find that I can relate to them. "

Content - Pollyanne Trapmore 2005 - 2010