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Review: Fairy Tales // Gallery of Modern Art

Welcome to Wonderland at Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art's newest exhibition, Fairy Tales. Think back to your childhood, parents reading bedtime stories sharing life lessons, be it a scary witch or a handsome prince, this exhibition extraordinarily shares the wonder of childhood. 

Enter GOMA where children are chattering and adults are teaming with excitement. Whether it is fawning over Cinderella's Glass Slipper or looking in awe after the Beast's Rose, this exhibition had something for everyone. Curated by Amanda Slack-Smith the exhibition explores themes of loss, life, wonder, and magic taking the audience through three distinct scenes. 

Curupira by Henrique Oliveria

First, we enter 'Into the Woods,' lowly lit and eerie, The first piece is an extraordinary start to the gallery Henrique Oliveira's Curupira. A massive installation fashioned together by plywood and driftwood timber. As you follow the wood around you end up deeper in this exhibition with an ever-increasing darkness (like entering the woods!) such as the theatrical but haunting Witch House (Umbilical Covern) by Trulee Hall showing the witchery and magic behind motherhood. 


Witch House (Umbilical Covern) by Trulee Hall

As you walk across the path the crowd is asked to head 'Through the Looking Glass.' With original props and costumes from the famous Jim Henson's Labyrinth, it forces the crowd to picture a life beyond our world. Patricia Piccinini is featured many times throughout this exhibition showing their incredible work with hyper-realistic sculptures which is equally terrifying and incredible. 


Cinderella's Glass Slipper on loan from The Walt Disney Company

The final chapter of this incredible exhibition is our ending, 'Ever After.' This is where magic is layered on thick. The show-stopping piece to this chapter is Timothy Horn's Mother-load a full carriage embellished with impressive crystalised sugar, eye-catching to behold. Finalising the exhibition is an impressive display of Eiko Ishioka's fabulous costuming for the 2012 film Mirror Mirror, the LA Hollywood's version of 'Snow White.'

Mother-load By Timothy Horn

Overall, Fairy Tales is an impressive collection of artworks that makes it perfect for any combination of viewers. Fairy Tales is open to the public now until the 28th of April 2024, tickets can be purchased here. 

Photos by Jake Goodall
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