Beguiling illustrations for Freud's Interpreting Dreams

Date
22 September 2015

I think the most intriguing, printable dream I ever had was one where I was out walking with my lover and two terriers, who broke free from their leads and ran around a field chasing a horse. The horse evaporated into clouds of glorious luminescent glitter, it was beautiful, but also heartbreakingly sad. What did all this mean? I have no idea, but I do like glitter. One man who might have known, of course, is Freud. When he wasn’t talking about how everything was about our dads or things like the “anal” stage, he was busy interpreting dreams, a practise that still intrigues as much today as when his The Interpretation of Dreams tome was first published back in 1899.

A new edition published by the Folio Society breathes fresh life into the book through some gorgeous illustrations by Gabriella Boyd. The images were oil painted and use enigmatic elements of the text to intrigue us, rather than spell out the complex and oft-contested words of Freud. The Glasgow-born illustrator is still studying at the Royal Academy, but her nuanced work and bold, rich use of colour is mature and tells a story beautifully.

Above
Left

Gabriella Boyd: The Folio Society edition of Interpreting Dreams
© Gabriella Boyd 2015

Above
Left

Gabriella Boyd: The Folio Society edition of Interpreting Dreams
© Gabriella Boyd 2015

Above

Gabriella Boyd: The Folio Society edition of Interpreting Dreams
© Gabriella Boyd 2015

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About the Author

Emily Gosling

Emily joined It’s Nice That as Online Editor in the summer of 2014 after four years at Design Week. She is particularly interested in graphic design, branding and music. After working It's Nice That as both Online Editor and Deputy Editor, Emily left the company in 2016.

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