Out of the Mouths of Corpses

Artist Karl Persson

Interrogated by The Grin Creeper

G&C: So, what’s your obsession with mouths, teeth and gums? Are you a dentist?

KP: Dentistry is sexy! There are so many unique and ironic things about mouths. The jaw is our strongest muscle. Our teeth are our only exposed bone. Mouths contain one of the densest parts of our neural system in order to facilitate speech. We can breathe, eat and sing through our mouths. Before we had hands our mouths were our main tools. They are capable of giving pain and pleasure. Many animals kill with their mouths. They are a huge entrance into our body and our tongue is like an internal organ coming out of our face. They are a metaphor and symbol of our hidden selves, which make up most of us, both psychologically and physically.

G&C: What process do you use for painting? Do you paint with oils? Pen and ink? Menstrual blood? Monkey feces?

KP: I found the adhesive qualities of feces insufficient for my style of painting. Also for the most part, the odor was intolerable and at best less than desirable…

Read the rest of this interview and see disturbing artwork: Click here