A fascinating variation of responses to the theme of “Fairytales and Other Stories” will be on show in work produced by the members of The Rookery Artist’s Collective at Gallery 46, 46 Ashfield Street,  London, E1 2AJ from Thursday May 26th - Saturday May 28th 2022. 

 

Some of the work for this current show was made for an exhibition of the same name lost to Covid.  The world has changed enormously since then but the theme of stories and fairy tales remains universal. The show contains work made for the original show, but also includes new work reflecting the last two year’s evolution in the seven artists thinking and making resulting from their experiences and new realities.

 

Childhood experiences and memories inform much of the work. These experiences mirror the variety of artists in the Rookery Collective.  From the tales of Anansi Tori, the crafty spider (stories which originate from West Africa and were spread through slavery and were handed down orally by the Maroons of Suriname) through the Mahabarata and Irish Folk tales to the aesthetic of LadyBird books and Disney films. 

 

Although in modern times, fairy tales are considered for children, they were originally an oral tradition and meant for whole communities.  They were frequently very dark and a number of works examine this “darker” side. They also explore the continuing relevance of fairy tale’s in the way they reflect society.  Rapunzel, and the idea of the princess imprisoned in her ivory tower is as relevant today as it was 500 years ago.

 

There is also work exploring other stories. The theme of metamorphosis arises in a number of works particularly referencing the story of Apollo and Daphne and the human forms found within nature.

There are also more local stories with work looking at the waves of immigration through London’s East End and the traces that these waves left behind.

 

The exhibition contains work in both 2 and 3 dimensions, in various media and materials.  It is open from 12 noon - 6pm.