GOMA Conjures up ‘Fairy Tales’ Exhibition in Brisbane

Featured works include a twisted wood by Henrique Oliveira, a rock sugar stagecoach by Timothy Horn, and Trulee Hall's sculpture Witch House.

Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) will present the exhibition Fairy Tales across its ground floor from 2 December 2023 until 28 April 2024.

'The exhibition explores enchantment, thresholds, and transformation while articulating concerns that have always been inherent in fairy tales, such as power imbalances, injustice, ageing, gender and otherness, and resilience in the face of adversity,' said exhibition curator Amanda Slack-Smith.

The exhibition will be presented in chapters, beginning with 'Into the Woods', which features a twisted forest installation made from found tree branches, plywood and salvaged timber by Brazilian sculptor Henrique Oliveira.

Other works by contemporary artists include photos from Abdul Abdullah's animal-headed portrait series 'Coming to Terms' (2015), Anish Kapoor's concave mirror Red and Black Mist Magenta (2018), and Trulee Hall's Witch House (Umbilical Coven) (2023).

Works in the 'Through the Looking Glass' chapter include Carsten Höller's interactive sculpture Flying Mushrooms (2015) and Patricia Piccinini's Enchanted Field (2023), a pathway beneath a canopy of 3,000 genetically modified blooms.

Finally, the 'Ever After' chapter includes Timothy Horn's rock sugar stagecoach Mother-load (2008), Ron Mueck's sculpture Pinocchio (1996), and Del Kathryn Barton and Brendan Fletcher's animation The Nightingale and the Rose (2015).

In addition to artworks, the exhibition will present images, props, and wardrobe from the worlds of literature, film, and TV.

Visitors will happen upon costumes made by the Jim Henson Creature Shop for the 2009 film Where the Wild Things Are and a costume worn by David Bowie in Labyrinth (1986), among many more fantastical finds. —[O]