Grimm Fairytales
In 2023 I was invited to create a series of illustrations for an exhibition titled ‘Close to Ideal’. This exhibition focused on our (often unattainable) ideas of perfection in the 21st century and featured 25 of the most recognised Latvian artists of our time. It was an immense honour to be chosen for such a wonderful event.
the concept and idea
Grimm Fairytales is a comment on perfectionism, of the desire to be more, to be better all the time. Of the dark paths that overdoing this can lead us down. A lot of us grew up with the perfectly polished images of Snow White, The Sleeping Beauty and The Little Mermaid. These were women that were always good and kind; they were never angry, and they bore the expectations placed on them in silence. We grew up thinking we should do the same, but real women are not fairytale characters. Grimm Fairytales explores what would happen if our beloved princesses snapped under the weight of having to embody these images of perfection.
Sketches for Snow White and The Little Mermaid
the idea
The project was inspired by an university assignment I had undertaken a year prior, titled Dark Postcards - in this project I worked on creating postcards that fairy godmothers would send to these princesses, warning them not to lose themselves in the process of pleasing others or loving a man.
the videos
I documented my work process within timelapses and then added subtitles to these videos that explained my thinking and process even further. These were a complete hit at the exhibition; people watched them all from start to finish.
