Artwork
Pure Evil. Frost on the Thames 1814.
Pure Evil. Frost on the Thames 1814. is a print by Pure Evil. It dates from 2009 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
This print is called *Pure Evil. Frost on the Thames 1814*. It’s by the artist Pure Evil, made around 2009.
It swaps a 19th-century print about disease into a weird, modern twist. A giant vampire bunny walks across a frozen river. He leaves tiny bunny “tags” behind, like a creepy signature.
That bunny comes from an old print by Félicien Rops. Check out the Victoria and Albert Museum for more.
Overview
The work blends historical visual language with modern pop-inflected grotesquerie, transforming a symbol of disease into a cryptic, anthropomorphic figure.
Created around 2009 by the artist Pure Evil, this print reimagines a 19th-century satirical image through a contemporary, surreal lens. It depicts a towering vampire bunny traversing a frozen River Thames, referencing historical frost fairs while subverting the original’s moral allegory. The work blends historical visual language with modern pop-inflected grotesquerie, transforming a symbol of disease into a cryptic, anthropomorphic figure.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure, a vampire bunny, replaces the skeletal prostitute from Félicien Rops’s 1860s print, which symbolized the spread of syphilis. Here, the bunny’s trail of tiny bunny-shaped tags suggests a different kind of contamination—perhaps cultural, psychological, or viral—without explicit medical reference. The frost fair setting evokes historical public spectacle, now haunted by an absurd, menacing presence that resists clear interpretation.
Technique & Style
The print employs sharp, high-contrast linework reminiscent of 19th-century wood engravings, yet its composition and subject matter are distinctly postmodern. The exaggerated scale of the bunny, the meticulous rendering of icy textures, and the repetitive motif of the tags create a rhythmic, almost hypnotic visual pattern. The style merges historical print techniques with punk and street-art aesthetics.
History & Provenance
The work directly references Félicien Rops’s 1863 print 'Satan Sowing Tares,' which depicted a monstrous figure scattering women as symbols of moral corruption. Pure Evil recontextualizes this imagery by transplanting it to London’s 1814 frost fair, replacing disease with a fantastical, non-human entity. The shift from Victorian moral panic to contemporary surrealism reflects a broader recalibration of symbolic meaning across time.
Context
The 1814 frost fair was a real event during a period of extreme cold when the Thames froze solid, enabling markets and festivities on its surface. By placing a monstrous, otherworldly figure in this historically grounded scene, the print juxtaposes collective memory with psychological unease. The choice of a vampire bunny—a creature of modern folklore—invokes unease through familiarity turned alien.
Legacy
The print contributes to a lineage of artists who repurpose historical imagery to critique or reimagine social anxieties. Its ambiguity invites multiple readings—about contagion, identity, or the persistence of inherited fears—without offering resolution. It stands as a quiet example of how contemporary printmaking engages with the past not as nostalgia, but as a site of reinvention.
Artist & collection
