baby girl
"Let's name her Ophelia."
"Why?"
"I don't know honey, just a gut feeling."
Mark Ryden ~ Whipped Cream Dropped
Her eyes open to a sharp brightness, she feels a sudden whip of panic as she hears too many voices, too much noise. She needs to do something, anything to get back to where she was.
It's cold. Someone is holding her, who is holding her? Stop. They need to stop. She opens her mouth and a sound so loud came from it. She closed her mouth, more confused at the sound of her own voice. Then opens it again.
She can feel a warm soft blanket as white as cream, whipped around her body. She closes her mouth and doesn't open it again.
James Jean ~
Mother
"She is so beautiful."
"Yes, she is. Although I can't figure out whom she looks like more, you or Malcolm."
"Well Margaret, I don't think anyone can tell from such a young age."
"You could be right..."
"You know sometimes when she looks at me, I feel like her eyes are piercing right through my soul."
"Don't be ridiculous Abigail. She probably stares at you because she thinks that you're beautiful too."
James Jean ~
Escape
A stranger had once again given her more colorful plastic objects, and Ophelia could not help but be delighted by the burst of colors and shapes that surrounded her.
There were objects that made sounds when she hit them at certain spots, there were objects that did nothing at all but it seemed to catch her attention for a long while. The colors and shapes exploded beneath her eyes, and her imagination ran as wild as the wind.
She did everything, from sucking on objects to knocking them against the barrier that surrounded her. She was in a cot, but her mind was a vast escape filled with boundless joy.
Mark Ryden ~
Hospital
"What do you mean there is a problem?"
"After assessing her physical and responsive movement, it seems she has reacted unnaturally compared to other babies."
"What the hell does that even mean?"
"It means your daughter might have a mental disorder, sir."
"Bullshit."
References:
Jean, J. (n.d.). Escape [Graphite and Digital]. 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.jamesjean.com/work2011/v8c9k98wxg9gg6lvtnk4yoqe74r2px
Jean, J. (n.d.). Mother [Acrylic and Pastel on Wood Panel]. 2009. Retrieved from: http://www.jamesjean.com/work2009/27iy075yxp2yd0lsdc6rdnqrj5cbtt
Ryden, M. (n.d.). Hospital [Oil on Panel]. Whipped Cream.Retrieved from: https://www.markryden.com/paintings/whipped-cream/paintings.html
Ryden, M. (n.d.). Whipped Cream Dropped [Oil on panel]. Whipped Cream. Paul Kasmin Gallery, Mark Ryden. Retrieved from: https://www.markryden.com/paintings/whipped-cream/paintings.html