Fairy Tales: Life at the margins

 

In the world of the fairy tale, witches and crones are not the only characters who generate mistrust and fear — ‘others’, outsiders and so-called misfits pushed to the margins of society, figure prominently in many tales. In these stories, people living outside the norm are branded as villains or monsters. The Beast from ‘Beauty and the Beast’ is a prime example. Given our social needs, stories of isolation reflect a deeply human anxiety. In stories, as in life, perceived differences inspire actions born of fear — from petty quarrelling to ostracism or vengeful retaliation.

Buy Tickets to ‘Fairy Tales’
Until 28 April 2024
Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane

While retribution and revenge are ever-present elements of fairy tales, so too are questions of cruelty, injustice and the redemptive power of kindness. The darker side of fairy tales holds a mirror to our motivations and helps us navigate the ethical decisions in our everyday lives.

‘Fairy Tales’ unfolds across three themed chapters. ‘Into the Woods’ explores the conventions and characters of traditional fairy tales alongside their contemporary retellings. ‘Through the Looking Glass’ presents newer tales of parallel worlds that are filled with unexpected ideas and paths. ‘Ever After’ brings together classic and current tales to celebrate aspirations, challenge convention and forge new directions.

Travel with us in our weekly series through each room and theme of the ‘Fairy Tales’ exhibition at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) as we focus on some of the works on display.

DELVE DEEPER: Journey through the ‘Fairy Tales’ exhibition with our weekly series

EXHIBITION THEME: 7 Into the Woods

Patricia Piccinini ‘The Couple’ 2018

Patricia Piccinini, Australia b.1965 / The Couple 2018 / Silicone, fibreglass, hair, cotton, caravan, found objects / The Taylor Family Collection. Purchased 2018 with funds from Paul, Sue and Kate Taylor through the QAGOMA Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Patricia Piccinini / Photographs: N Umek, C Baxter, N Harth © QAGOMA

Patricia Piccinini’s The Couple 2018 (illustrated) is haunting work that captures the isolation of those perceived as unwanted and unwelcome. Piccinini’s sculptures often touch on ideas of evolution, genetics and bioethics, seen through a lens of human empathy and curiosity. Her realistic creations are both familiar and foreign — illusions from an alternative world. The Couple presents a scene of intimacy and love in which two resting creatures lie in an embrace in a caravan, buffered from the cruel judgment of the world, if only in this moment. The characters’ uncanny otherness prompts contemplation of resilience, beauty and unconditional love.

Isobel Knowles, Van Sowerwine ‘You Were In My Dream’ 2010

Isobel Knowles, Australia b.1980 / Van Sowerwine, Australia b.1975 / You Were In My Dream 2010 / Interactive installation: live-feed webcam and single-channel video constructed from stop-motion animation, 16:9, colour, sound; wood Programming: Tarwin Stroh-Spijer; Sound: James Cecil; Engineering: Duncan Jack; An Experimenta commission / 170 x 70 x 170cm (irreg.) / The Premier of Queensland’s National New Media Art Award 2010. Purchased 2010 with funds from the Queensland Government / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Isobel Knowles and Van Sowerwine

Ideas of cloaking oneself through animal transformation pulse through the lush papercut stop‑motion animation and interactive installation You Were In My Dream 2010, by collaborating Australian artists Isobel Knowles and Van Sowerwine. Beginning with a small child sleeping on a jungle floor, the viewer wakes the child with a click of the mouse to find their face has been imposed onto the animated figure through a live video feed. Prompted to send their character on a magical journey by clicking on one of the many pulsing stars on the screen, echoes elements of the transformative chase in classic fairy tales, whereby a pursuit prompts the protagonist to shapeshift through several forms — a rabbit, monkey, wolf or bird. In a magical world that demands one to eat or be eaten, these changes are not without their own challenges.

The ‘Fairy Tales’ exhibition is at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), Australia from 2 December 2023 until 28 April 2024.

Fairy Tales Cinema: Truth, Power and Enchantment‘ presented in conjunction with GOMA’s blockbuster summer exhibition screens at the Australian Cinémathèque, GOMA from 2 December 2023 until 28 April 2024.

The major publication ‘Fairy Tales in Art and Film’ available at the QAGOMA Store and online explores how fairy tales have held our fascination for centuries through art and culture.

From gift ideas, treats just for you or the exhibition publication, visit the ‘Fairy Tales’ exhibition shop at GOMA or online.

‘Fairy Tales’ merchandise available at the GOMA exhibition shop or online.

#QAGOMA

Fairy Tales: Witchiness

 

In fairy tales, women are often cast in the role of maiden, (step)mother or crone, many stories focus on the transition from girlhood to womanhood, with marriage (and motherhood) the ideal outcome. Coming-of-age journeys in classic tales, however, are often fraught. There are dangers for girls who fail to adhere to societal expectations — they can turn into the threatening figures of the disagreeable crone or the evil witch, who lives alone in the fearsome woods.

‘Fairy Tales’ unfolds across three themed chapters. ‘Into the Woods’ explores the conventions and characters of traditional fairy tales alongside their contemporary retellings. ‘Through the Looking Glass’ presents newer tales of parallel worlds that are filled with unexpected ideas and paths. ‘Ever After’ brings together classic and current tales to celebrate aspirations, challenge convention and forge new directions.

Travel with us in our weekly series through each room and theme of the ‘Fairy Tales’ exhibition at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) as we highlight works on display.

Buy Tickets to ‘Fairy Tales’
Until 28 April 2024
Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane

Enter the Witch House

Witches tend to be cast as unpredictable, vengeful or malevolent forces, who possess supernatural powers and secret knowledge. Often, they are women feared for their very independence. While witches’ dark motives make them the villains of many fairy tales, contemporary tellings such as Trulee Hall’s Witch House (Umbilical Coven) 2023 (illustrated) reframe them as empowering female role models. Tracing the associations in fairy tales between age, gender, fertility and influence highlights the ways our society is constantly changing. Today, many stories celebrate the redemptive powers and joys of ‘witchiness’, and powerful witches in literature, film and television are often complex characters, rather than simple stereotypes.

DELVE DEEPER: Journey through the ‘Fairy Tales’ exhibition with our weekly series

EXHIBITION THEME: 6 Into the Woods

Trulee Hall ‘Witch House (Umbilical Coven)’ 2023 

Trulee Hall, United States b.1976 / Witch House (Umbilical Coven) 2023, Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) Brisbane 2023 / Wood, papier-mache, resin, fabric, stuffing, fake fur, synthetic hair, altered sex dolls, synthetic polymer paint, spray-paint, found candle holders, cornucopia baskets, found ceramic cornucopia, found crystal balls, convex mirror, polymer clay, hardware, LED candles / 431.8 x 685.8 x 436.9cm / © Trulee Hall / Photographs: N Umek & C Callistemon © QAGOMA

Witches in fairy tales commonly live far away from towns and villages. Self-sufficient, they rarely choose to live with others. A witch’s home is often enchanted, filled with magical objects, ancient knowledge and power.

Sculptor, painter and filmmaker Trulee Hall’s wonderfully theatrical Witch House (Umbilical Coven) 2023 revels in the power of witches and the positive aspects of non-conformity. Jet-black and precariously constructed, this dwelling is at once alluring and daunting. Inside is a video work combining elements of live action with stop-motion animation, featuring images of feminine energy, fertility and a seance. A place of power, transgression and action, Witch House (Umbilical Coven) reclaims and celebrates the figure of the witch.

The ‘Fairy Tales’ exhibition is at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), Australia from 2 December 2023 until 28 April 2024.

Fairy Tales Cinema: Truth, Power and Enchantment‘ presented in conjunction with GOMA’s blockbuster summer exhibition screens at the Australian Cinémathèque, GOMA from 2 December 2023 until 28 April 2024.

The major publication ‘Fairy Tales in Art and Film’ available at the QAGOMA Store and online explores how fairy tales have held our fascination for centuries through art and culture.

From gift ideas, treats just for you or the exhibition publication, visit the ‘Fairy Tales’ exhibition shop at GOMA or online.

‘Fairy Tales’ merchandise available at the GOMA exhibition shop or online.

#QAGOMA

Fairy Tales: Lost children

 

Not all those who find themselves deep in the woods have gone there willingly, with lost or abandoned children recurrent characters in fairy tales — at a time when women frequently died in childbirth, their remaining children often faced challenging domestic situations. In ‘Hansel and Gretel’, the siblings are abandoned in the woods by their father and stepmother due to a lack of food. This story, which plays on fears of abandonment, disorientation and helplessness, remains one of the best known of the Brothers Grimm’s tales.

Buy Tickets to ‘Fairy Tales’
Until 28 April 2024
Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane

In many narratives where home is not a nurturing space, children venture into the woods seeking sanctuary. While the woods are rarely entirely benevolent environments, the child protagonists demonstrate courage and resilience, often reaping the rewards of their trials. Historically, the bush and the outback are powerful settings for challenging the anxieties of the Australian national consciousness. Real and fictional stories of lost children are very much part of our country’s psyche, and they reveal pervasive feelings of vulnerability, distrust and fear.

‘Fairy Tales’ unfolds across three themed chapters. ‘Into the Woods’ explores the conventions and characters of traditional fairy tales alongside their contemporary retellings. ‘Through the Looking Glass’ presents newer tales of parallel worlds that are filled with unexpected ideas and paths. ‘Ever After’ brings together classic and current tales to celebrate aspirations, challenge convention and forge new directions.

Travel with us in our weekly series through each room and theme of the ‘Fairy Tales’ exhibition at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) as we feature some of the works on display.

DELVE DEEPER: Journey through the ‘Fairy Tales’ exhibition with our weekly series

EXHIBITION THEME: 5 Into the Woods

Tracey Moffatt 

Tracey Moffatt, Australia b.1960 / From ‘Invocations’ series 2000 Invocations 1 / Photo screenprint, printed in colour ultraviolet inks on textured Somerset satin paper / Gift of Patrick Corrigan 2001 / Collection: Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney / © Tracey Moffatt

In fairy tales, the line between make-believe and reality is often blurred. In Tracey Moffatt’s screenprints from her ‘Invocations’ series the artist explores the collective fear of abandonment and vulnerability at the heart of many ‘lost children’ fairy tales. Both eerie and inviting, watchful trees trace the movements of a young girl deep in a sentient European forest, recalling the aesthetics of twentieth-century fairy-tale cinema — from Walt Disney Studio animations to The Wizard of Oz (1939). Moffatt’s process, too, treads the line between fact and fiction, with photographs screen-printed, layer by layer, to resemble the texture of a painting. The uncanny imagery of these works prompts questions about race, colonialism and belonging in different landscapes.

Polixeni Papapetrou

Polixeni Papapetrou, Australia 1960–2018 / In the Keilor Plains 1895 #2 (from ‘Haunted Country’ series) 2006 / Pigment ink print / 105 x 105cm / Gift of Robert Nelson through the QAGOMA Foundation 2023 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Polixeni Papapetrou/Copyright Agency

Many fairy tale themes are universal and move across geographical borders, cultures and time. Lost children — in the forest, the wilderness or the desert — is a theme central to several stories and can be found throughout Australian art, literature and film.

In Polixeni Papapetrou’s ‘Haunted Country’ photographic series of 2006 the artist restages both historical and fictional stories of children lost in the Australian bush. Depicting her own children and their friends in vulnerable situations, Papapetrou touches on the concerns of early settlers, imagining the vastness of the Australian landscape heightening feelings of defencelessness against the unknown.

Polixeni Papapetrou, Australia 1960–2018 / Daylesford 1867 #2 (from ‘Haunted Country’ series) 2006 / Pigment ink print / 105 x 105cm / Gift of Robert Nelson through the QAGOMA Foundation 2023 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Polixeni Papapetrou/Copyright Agency
Installation view ‘Fairy Tales’, Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) Brisbane featuring the work of Polixeni Papapetrou and Tracey Moffatt / Photograph: N Umek © QAGOMA

TheFairy Talesexhibition is at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), Australia from 2 December 2023 until 28 April 2024.

Fairy Tales Cinema: Truth, Power and Enchantment‘ presented in conjunction with GOMA’s blockbuster summer exhibition screens at the Australian Cinémathèque, GOMA from 2 December 2023 until 28 April 2024.

The major publicationFairy Tales in Art and Film’ available at the QAGOMA Store and online explores how fairy tales have held our fascination for centuries through art and culture.

From gift ideas, treats just for you or the exhibition publication, visit the ‘Fairy Tales’ exhibition shop at GOMA or online.

‘Fairy Tales’ merchandise available at the GOMA exhibition shop or online.

#QAGOMA

Rosalie Gascoigne: An alternative form of art making

 

Rosalie Gascoigne (25 January 1917–1999) first came to public attention in the mid 1970s through her installations and boxes of found objects. She is best known, however, for her wall-based assemblages, which brought diverse materials from everyday life into new frames of reference. Gascoigne worked with items that had been discarded and left to weather, finding beauty in them that would normally be overlooked. By the mid 1980s, she had become more formal in her outlook, often using grid patterns in her compositions, as in Lamp lit 1989 (illustrated).

Assemblage is an art activity, yet it refuses to shake off the every day associations of its mediums. The most radical feature of this approach is that collage denies any easy categorisation. This is the most challenging aspect of assemblage, not everyone is prepared to accept that art is everyday life.

‘My pieces can be looked at in different ways. I try to provide a starting point from which people can let their imaginations wander — what they discover will be the product of their own experience as much as mine. My aim is to be both allusive and elusive.’

Gascoigne is exploring an alternative form of art making humble and witty. The use of found objects, in the case of Lamp lit, road signs, and their close ordering and repetition creates a visual poetry of lines and signs.

Rosalie Gascoigne, Australia 1917–1999 / Lamp lit 1989 / Retro-reflective road signs on hardwood / 183 x 183cm / Purchased 1990. Mrs J R Lucas Estate in memory of her father John Robertson Blane / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Rosalie Gascoigne Estate

The title ‘Lamp lit’ might suggest car headlights catching the road signs from which the work is made, but it also refers to the artist’s emotional response to a mass of brilliant yellow lantern-shaped flowers she encountered on the road to Bungendore in New South Wales, which inspired the work.

Gascoigne wrote in 1987 about her search for materials:

‘On the way back to Canberra I came upon a road gang sitting among the winter tussocks having a smoko. I pulled up. Heads turned. Six men, one stare, closed ranks… “I want, I NEED some broken retro-reflective road signs. I am a sculptor.” They looked concertedly amused and sceptical … The foreman detached himself, sorted through his signs, and offered me one I didn’t want. I accepted gratefully. “Maybe”, I suggested, “I could have that lovely yellow one? It does, after all, have a hole in it.” He stretched a point and let me have it. He carried it to my car. I was touched. In the scavenging business one usually lugs one’s own.’

#QAGOMA

Georgia Walsh: QAGOMA’s Regional Liaison Officer

 

Georgia Walsh — Badtjala woman, artist and QAGOMA’s Regional Liaison Officer — shares something of her artistic practice, working with regional and remote communities, and a philosophy of gratitude, joy, and seizing every opportunity.

Describe your work area.
As Regional Liaison Officer (a role generously supported by the Neilson Foundation), I’m part of the QAGOMA Learning team. I am privileged to work alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and communities all over Queensland, delivering the Gallery’s annual Design Tracks and Art as Exchange programs. In my own art practice, I am a printmaker and drawer, and my work of late experiments with trace monotype life drawings on gold pigmented paper. I have a modest studio at home where I do most of my making, and though its often shared with a husband working from home or kids joining in the artmaking fun, they provide a welcome bustle to my hustle.

QAGOMA Regional Liaison Officer Georgia Walsh (Badtjala people) with participants at Design Tracks 2023 / Photograph: J Ruckli

What work do you most enjoying doing?
Spending time with young artists! I’m so motivated and inspired by the creativity I see in young people. The work I do with youth makes me excited for my two (still very little) children and the change they will bring to the world. I also cherish opportunities to learn about the true history of regional Queensland from some of the amazing and dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge holders.

What research do you do?
My research relates to my work in the cultural learning space. I am interested in the intersection of western systemic hierarchies and First Nations’ knowledge systems, particularly as it relates to learning and pedagogy. I am passionate about on-the-ground experiences and how these are fundamental in continuing oral histories.

How has your practice changed over time?
The more exposure I have to other stories and people, the more inspired I am to pursue new ideas. I think like many artists, those formative years of art college or emerging practice were very introspective. I take great joy in the many ways my work life now informs my practice and research, and feel grateful for the opportunities I have not only to view the world through so many perspectives but also to process and explore these through art.

Where did you grow up, and how do you think this has influenced your practice?
I grew up on a property 30 minutes’ drive from the rural town of Inverell, on Gamilaraay Country in northern New South Wales. Affectionately named ‘The Sapphire City’ for its gem-producing river systems, it was a wonderful place to live. I was raised to appreciate and value my close community and witnessed what is possible with the support of a ‘village’. I miss this aspect of upbringing in the city, but it has only made us reach for larger networks and lean more on family here in Queensland. My colleagues at QAGOMA and the Cultural Centre are part of this network and I see the intertwined nature of my work and life as an extension of my original ‘village’.

I have a first-hand understanding of regional barriers to opportunities, which inspired me to seize them all without hesitation when I moved to Brisbane in 2011. Without this awareness, I would not be where I am today. My career has taken very organic turns that always point to regional communities, intentionally or not, and I am excited to discover how I’ll continue to move towards them in the future.

(Left to right) QAGOMA Assistant Director Simon Wright, Regional Liaison Officer Georgia Walsh, and Head of Learning and Access Terry Deen at the 2023 Gallery and Museum Achievement Awards / Photograph: K Bennett, courtesy of Museum & Galleries Queensland

This text is adapted from an essay first published in QAGOMA’s Members’ magazine, Artlines.

Featured image: Georgia Walsh (Badtjala people), QAGOMA Regional Liaison Officer at Art As Exchange, Koa Country, Winton, October 2022 / Photograph: J Ruckli

#QAGOMA

Fairy Tales: Far from home

 

Family dynamics play a crucial role in fairy tales. Many begin with a rupture in the home that compels a character to undertake a quest, which then provides the setting for lessons in independence and resilience. Estrangements come in many forms: between children and vindictive step-parents (with their equally unpleasant offspring), or between jealous siblings squabbling for attention or power. Sometimes these separations are the result of a parent whose absence, be it through death or distraction, creates a vacuum for harmful forces to enter the home. Most parents in classic fairy tales are not to be trusted, and happy families are rare.

Buy Tickets to ‘Fairy Tales’
Until 28 April 2024
Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane

Characters who find themselves far from home are confronted with the unfamiliar and are called upon to turn challenges to their advantage. Living in the royal court is an aspirational ideal in many fairy tales, including ‘Cinderella’ and ‘Snow White’. In other tales, a character achieves wealth and power through their cunning. ‘Trickster’ protagonists — a role often occupied by wolves, foxes and monkeys, who possess human traits — feature in these tales. Their disruptive and clever acts make us aware of power imbalances influencing the characters’ fates.

‘Fairy Tales’ unfolds across three themed chapters. ‘Into the Woods’ explores the conventions and characters of traditional fairy tales alongside their contemporary retellings. ‘Through the Looking Glass’ presents newer tales of parallel worlds that are filled with unexpected ideas and paths. ‘Ever After’ brings together classic and current tales to celebrate aspirations, challenge convention and forge new directions.

Travel with us in our weekly series through each room and theme of the ‘Fairy Tales’ exhibition at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) as we highlight some of the works.

DELVE DEEPER: Journey through the ‘Fairy Tales’ exhibition with our weekly series

EXHIBITION THEME: 4 Into the Woods

‘Sky’, ‘Moon’ & ‘Sun’ costumes ‘Peau d’Âne (Donkey Skin)’ 1970

Installation view ‘Fairy Tales’, Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) Brisbane 2023 / Production still from Peau d’Âne (Donkey Skin) 1970; 35mm, colour, mono, 91 minutes, France, French (English subtitles); Director/script: Jacques Demy, France 1931–90; Producer: Mag Bodard; Cinematographer: Ghislain Cloquet; Editor: Anne Marie Cotret; Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Jean Marais, Jacques Perrin, Delphine Seyrig; Image courtesy: Ciné-Tamaris, Paris / Jacques Demy (director), Agostino Pace (designer), Mine Barral Vergez (reproduction costumier), Paris; From Peau d’Âne (Donkey Skin) 1970 2013; Reproductions of the ‘sky’, ‘moon’ and ‘sun’ dresses worn by Catherine Deneuve; ‘Sky dress’ costume: Taffeta, rhinestones, metallic fringe, beads; ‘Moon dress’ costume: Cloqué lamé, coated cloth, tulle, rhinestones, sequins, trimmings, embroidery; ‘Sun dress’ costume: Lamé, velvet, polyester, coated cloth, synthetic horsehair, rhinestone lace, sequins; Collection: La Cinémathèque française, Paris / Photograph: N Umek © QAGOMA

Jacques Demy (director), France 1931–90; Agostino Pace (designer), Tunisia b.1936; Mine Barral Vergez (reproduction costumier), Paris / From Peau d’Âne (Donkey Skin) 1970 2013 / Reproductions of the ‘sky’, ‘moon’ and ‘sun’ dresses worn by Catherine Deneuve / ‘Sky dress’ costume: Taffeta, rhinestones, metallic fringe, beads; ‘Moon dress’ costume: Cloqué lamé, coated cloth, tulle, rhinestones, sequins, trimmings, embroidery; ‘Sun dress’ costume: Lamé, velvet, polyester, coated cloth, synthetic horsehair, rhinestone lace, sequins / Collection: La Cinémathèque française, Paris / Photograph: C Callistemon © QAGOMA

Jacques Demy (director), France 1931–90; Agostino Pace (designer), Tunisia b.1936; Mine Barral Vergez (reproduction costumier), Paris / From Peau d’Âne (Donkey Skin) 1970 2013 / Reproduction of the ‘sun’ dress worn by Catherine Deneuve / ‘Sun dress’ costume: Lamé, velvet, polyester, coated cloth, synthetic horsehair, rhinestone lace, sequins / Collection: La Cinémathèque française, Paris / Photograph: N Umek © QAGOMA

The darkest of the classic tales is Charles Perrault’s ‘Peau d’Âne (Donkey Skin)’ from 1695. It tells of a king who promises his dying queen that he will only remarry a woman as beautiful as she, with the unfortunate consequence that their own daughter becomes the sole candidate. In the story, the princess’s fairy godmother instructs her to outwit the king’s request for marriage with a series of impossible demands — a dress the colour of the sky, one of the moon and, finally, one of the sun (illustrated). When the three challenges are met, she asks the most impossible request yet: a cloak made from the skin of the magic donkey that fills the kingdom’s coffers. The king agrees, and the princess is forced to flee the kingdom, unrecognisable beneath the donkey cloak.

This tale was adapted for film in 1970 by Jacques Demy, a renowned director of the French New Wave. Demy harnessed his characteristic use of vibrant colour, stylised sets and musical performance to amplify fantastical elements of the tale, while exploring themes of class, gender and social expectations. Inspired by Jean Cocteau’s La Belle et la Bête (Beauty and the Beast) 1946, Demy also pays homage to Cocteau’s influence through his stylistic and special effects choices, script and casting (Jean Marais was both the Beast in Cocteau’s La Belle et la Bête and the King in Demy’s Peau d’Âne).

Peau d’Âne (Donkey Skin) 1970 G screens at the Australian Cinémathèque, GOMA

Abdul Abdullah ‘Troubling the margins’ 2022

Abdul Abdullah, Australia b.1986 / Troubling the margins (from ‘Interloper’ series) 2022 /  Digital print, made with the assistance of David Charles Collins / 162.5 x 130cm / © Abdul Abdullah / Courtesy: The artist and Yavuz Gallery, Sydney

In fairy tales, many characters live by their wits rather than by the comforts of birthright and status. Often taking the form of an animal with human traits, they rely on their resourcefulness and trickery to create a life of adventure and reward. The tale of ‘Puss in Boots’ is one such story.

Australian artist Abdul Abdullah comments on ideas of ownership, place and belonging in the large-scale photograph Troubling the margins 2022 (illustrated), from his ‘Interloper’ series. Majestic in size, Abdullah casts himself as the fox, a trickster figure in many fairy tales, seated among the chickens, comfortably laying claim to the hen house, an esky by his side. The work was inspired by Abdullah’s time in London, where he noticed a fox darting in and out of London alleyways as he passed by at night. The sense of being an unwanted presence at the urban margins struck a chord with Abdullah, whose practice looks closely at the way marginalised communities can become are targets for vilification.

TheFairy Talesexhibition is at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), Australia from 2 December 2023 until 28 April 2024.

Fairy Tales Cinema: Truth, Power and Enchantment‘ presented in conjunction with GOMA’s blockbuster summer exhibition screens at the Australian Cinémathèque, GOMA from 2 December 2023 until 28 April 2024.

The major publicationFairy Tales in Art and Film’ available at the QAGOMA Store and online explores how fairy tales have held our fascination for centuries through art and culture.

From gift ideas, treats just for you or the exhibition publication, visit the ‘Fairy Tales’ exhibition shop at GOMA or online.

‘Fairy Tales’ merchandise available at the GOMA exhibition shop or online.

#QAGOMA