For many creative professionals, the early days of the global pandemic served as a profound catalyst for introspection and artistic production, providing an unexpected window of time to reevaluate subjects, techniques, and personal motivations. Like numerous artists navigating the profound uncertainties and stark isolation of that period, painter Rose Sanderson sought solace in her studio, turning to the canvas as a therapeutic balm against the harsh realities of the outside world. Out of this contemplative atmosphere emerged a distinctive, whimsical, and deeply imaginative body of work that playfully distorts reality through surrealist interventions on vintage ephemera.
Sanderson’s ongoing series, which has now expanded to encompass a remarkable collection of 50 completed paintings, transforms ordinary, sepia-toned or color-tinted historical postcards into uncanny theatrical stages. By painting directly onto these vintage artifacts, the artist bridges historical memory with speculative fiction, creating a visual dialogue between past eras and fantastical futures. "I started playing with escapism and imagination, mixing reality and fiction, and the blurring of childhood memories and nostalgia," Sanderson says, describing the conceptual foundation of her unique creative process. Many of the underlying photographic scenes depict idyllic seaside towns, a thematic choice heavily influenced by her own formative years growing up in a coastal community during the 1980s and 1990s.
Rather than approaching these historical documents with academic reverence, Sanderson treats them as raw canvases for subversion. Through clever manipulations of scale and perspective, she populates familiar, comforting landscapes with bizarre, out-of-scale anomalies that evoke the classic "Creature Features" of early mid-century cinema and B-movie horror. In one striking composition titled "Shipping hazard," an enormous, chitinous spider appears precariously balanced atop an isolated iceberg, casting a threatening yet absurd shadow across the freezing landscape. In another piece, "Watching donkeys on the beach," a colossal crab looms ominously over traditional seaside donkeys and unsuspecting beachgoers, transforming a mundane afternoon of coastal recreation into an episode of surreal science fiction.
The uncanny elements continue across the series with characteristic wit and dry humor. In "Camouflage," a massive tiger lounges comfortably among bright beach chairs and manicured turf, blending surprisingly well with its leisurely surroundings. Meanwhile, "Worm holes" depicts oversized subterranean creatures emerging directly from rolling green hills, and "Wind up car" introduces a mechanical, mechanical key mechanism onto the roof of an ordinary vintage automobile. Other works feature unexpected encounters with prehistoric life and folklore, including "Days gone by," which shows a wandering dinosaur navigating a peaceful campground, and "Sea serpent surprise," wherein a vibrant green sea monster breaks the surface of coastal waters. Additional works like "Mind the gap," featuring a jagged, zig-zagging fissure splitting open a beachside promenade, and "Cavia porcellus monstrum," displaying a giant rodent peering curiously over a lakeside park, further emphasize the artist’s preoccupation with scale and surreal disruption. In "Seaside ride," a solitary figure casually rides a giant garden slug along the shoreline, moving in tandem with traditional horseback riders.
Thanks to Sanderson’s sharp sense of humor and precise technical execution, these interventions remain charmingly humorous rather than genuinely horrifying. The paintings plunge viewers into a bizarre, dreamlike alternative dimension where the uncanny is always lurking just around the corner, waiting to disrupt the peaceful nostalgia of mid-century leisure.
The foundation of this artistic endeavor lies in a meticulous collecting practice that spans several years. Sanderson has sourced vintage postcards from a wide variety of purveyors, including local thrift stores, dusty antique shops, bustling flea markets, and online retailers. Crucially, this hobby connects to a family legacy, as her efforts have added significantly to an archival collection originally initiated by her grandparents. "There is something special about these snippets of history that give me a warm fuzzy feeling, and I love a lot of the aged, saturated colours, too," the artist notes, expressing her deep appreciation for the material qualities and historical resonance of the original cards.
Having successfully reached the milestone of 50 completed paintings, Sanderson’s comprehensive series is now slated for public exhibition. The collection will be on view to the public from November 11 through December 23 at the Aberystwyth Arts Centre, offering visitors a chance to examine the intricate details of the miniature paintings up close. To accompany the exhibition, a limited-edition art book featuring high-resolution reproductions of all 50 works within the series will also be made available for collectors and enthusiasts. Individuals seeking further updates regarding the exhibition, future projects, and the artist’s ongoing creative endeavors can follow Sanderson’s artistic journey through her official Instagram account.
