Heart of Darkness: The Illustrated Edition

Following his massive—and massively successful—Moby Dick in Pictures, artist Matt Kish has set himself upon an equally impressive, and no less harrowing, task: illustrating each page of Joseph Conrad's masterpiece, Heart of Darkness.

Kish’s rich, imaginative drawings and paintings mirror Conrad’s original text and serve to illuminate Marlow’s journey into the heart of the Congo, and into the depths of the human soul. Heart of Darkness is a text ripe for analysis and argument, formally and thematically; it explores matters of imperialism, racism, gender, and the duality of human nature. Kish’s illustrations add another layer, and another voice in the conversation. Heart of Darkness: The Illustrated Edition is an essential edition for fans and students of Conrad’s work, but is, above all, a piece of art all its own.

Kish’s introduction lends context to his approach, details his relationship and struggle with Conrad’s work, and illuminates his own creative process. An index in the rear of the book catalogs the sentences and phrases that inspired each of the one hundred original pieces of art.