Max Papeschi: Butchering Innocence

Max Papeschi may have begun his career as an author and director in film, television, and theatre, but the avante garde daredevil has twisted his skills into something a little more wicked. The satirical artist is known for his nightmarish re-intereterpretations of children’s fictional favourites. His visions see Mickey Mouse as a naked prostituting Nazi, and Ronald McDonald as the welcoming gatekeeper of Auschwitz. Papeschi’s work has provoked controversy and rage across the globe, yet still his nefarious images pop up in exciting exhibitions as he continues to spill his anarchical characters into the art world.

Image: The Nightmare Before Nothing, ‘Follow The White Rabbit’

While his art may seem to carry a sinister ‘just for fun’ ambience, Papeschi’s concepts are drawn with a rebellious dark-inked spatter that seeks to blot out and parody American commercialism and capitalism. His designs almost exclusively feature Disney characters that are disturbingly – albeit comically – unhinged into caricatures of communism (see Daffy Duck as a ‘communistfuckingduck’), nazism (see Micky Mouse as a ‘nazifuckingmouse’), facism (see everything), and every other ‘ism’ that can be politically conceived. However, there are some exceptions: one feature explored McDonald as a US soldier in Baghdad donning fatigues and an automated assault weapon, while Papeschi’s ‘A Life Less Ordinary Series’ reinvents Life magazine covers every few years from 1917. On the cover of the 1932 publication a plastic grumpy Hitler mask-head is superimposed onto a petite dancing ballerina, while the 2008 edition showcases a happy Obama doll head glued to an American bikini-clad body holding the peace sign with a sea of graves in the background.

Papeschi’s creations are definitely disturbing, yet their complete annihilation of the politically correct might fascinate some observers. Many describe him as sick, but there’s no doubt that his art communicates a message. Disney characters and McDonalds are at the forefront of a wave of commercialism and a casual click through the pages of the Internet can reveal the extent to which people oppose this tide. With this in mind, works like Papeschi’s are becoming more and more relevant, and as boundaries begin to disintegrate artists are taking more risks in their work. We all crack controversial jokes that are sometimes followed by a ‘too soon?’, but it’s up to audiences to decide if Papeschi’s work is indeed too soon or if it is a justifiable means of critique.