Dana Wyse's work is hilarious. I want someone to put together a book of all her work so I can buy it and then look at it and show it to everyone. Born in Canada, Wyse had grew up on the edge of a small town, where her closest neighbours were the residents of a psychiatric institution who apparently regularly escaped into her back garden. She was consistently rejected from art school and worked odd jobs which found her in Paris, where she started working as an artist in 1996.
According to Wyse, Jesus Had A Sister Productions came about because she couldn't speak French:
“That was when I was living first in France and didn’t speak the language and just sort
of was watching their culture, sort of like having an artist residency in France. There’s
a pharmacy on every corner, rather than a bar or a café. And I just started thinking about
how much medicine those people take in that country. And also thinking about how I
could maybe make my life better. If I could speak French instantly. If I could have friends
instantly. If I could —I don’t know— be more French instantly. And so I started making
instant pills for the kind of cures that I needed in my life.”
According to Wyse, Jesus Had A Sister Productions came about because she couldn't speak French:
“That was when I was living first in France and didn’t speak the language and just sort
of was watching their culture, sort of like having an artist residency in France. There’s
a pharmacy on every corner, rather than a bar or a café. And I just started thinking about
how much medicine those people take in that country. And also thinking about how I
could maybe make my life better. If I could speak French instantly. If I could have friends
instantly. If I could —I don’t know— be more French instantly. And so I started making
instant pills for the kind of cures that I needed in my life.”
The start of it all: part of series I of Jesus Had A Sister Productions
I think everyone has fantasised about a quick fix; instant weight loss, instant confidence, guaranteed success in all endeavours, things like that. Wyse took those day-dreams and turned them into these amazing pharmaceuticals. The packaging is great too. There is a jarring contrast between the colourful and cheerful vintage-style labels and the actual uses of some of the pills. There is a darkness to a lot of these pieces, but it's more playful instead of full-on depressing.
Wyse said that she wanted these pieces to say something - she wanted people to laugh, yes, but she also wanted the subject matter of a lot of them to be heard.
Okay but honestly I could post all the pictures on her website on here but I'll stop. You can them all here, and also you can buy them! They're real (physically, probably not medically) and you can own them!