Dinner and a Rose

An artist’s book with images by Sarah Bodman and text by Nancy Campbell.

A homage to the novel The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. The work originated in a commission to investigate how readers respond to visual aspects of poetry for Poetry Beyond Text: Vision, Text, Cognition, University of Dundee’s AHRC-funded research project.

Patricia Highsmith charts her murderous hero Tom Ripley’s greed for the good life by what he chooses to eat and drink, from devil-may-care martinis in Mongibello to penitential hot milk in Rome. Sarah Bodman and Nancy Campbell recreated Ripley’s meals in a live performance. Sarah prepared a delicious, if sinister, dinner, for twelve guests, with a thirteenth place set for the absent Tom Ripley. Every food mentioned by Highsmith was served, from cold chicken in aspic to sole veronique, and every drink mixed (even Dubonnet). The dinner lasted over twelve hours. The night’s conversations were recorded and Nancy used the transcriptions as collage material, creating a series of 18 poems. Sarah photographed Ripley’s setting for each course; images and poems partner each other in the finished work.

Originally produced in 2010 in an edition of 20 as part of the University of Dundee’s AHRC funded project, Poetry Beyond Text: Vision, Text and Cognition.

book details

This new edition has been created in 2021 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the last Ripley novel’s publication. Printed by Axminster Printing Company in an edition of 500, Digital print with silver detail on Nautilus Classic 135gsm recycled paper. 21 x 14.8 cm, 40 pages.

To order a copy please email nancy@nancycampbell.co.uk or Sarah.Bodman@uwe.ac.uk