Fairytales

Fairytales
Photographs by Alicia J. Rose

A re-imagining of 3 classic Grimm's fairy tales...

Opens January 4, 2008 (through Jan 28)
Grass Hut Gallery
811 E Burnside, Portland OR 97214
Tel: 503-445-9924

Fairytales is the debut exhibition of a new series of photographs by Portland photographer and artist Alicia J. Rose. Seen through a keen eye of childhood dispossession and vivid color-drenched fantasy, Rose delves deep into the dark side of Grimms' most harrowing tales held dear in her youth. Known mostly for her work with rock bands and ballet dancers, with Fairytales, Rose invites the viewer into an inner world where her imagination is laid bare and her fevered visions are brought to big, bold life.

Pushing the boundaries of perception, Rose's Fairytales are striking gender-amorphous visions of hope, fear, possession, and the mis-adventures of losing ones' innocence. Culled from a burgeoning and beautifully disturbed imagination, Rose's work is filled with impossibly bright colors, chiaroscuro lighting and purposeful composition. Using a medium format Hasselblad camera, lush high grain film stock and a combination of natural and artificial light, she creates all her images in-camera without the aid of post-camera/darkroom special effects or computer programs.

With characters cast from her friends and favorite performance circles (Sissyboy, Queer Bait, Splendora & The Gender Fluids), and a handful of remarkable tales to tell with a spooky forest at bay, Fairytales was shot over a moody and blustery weekend on Sauvie Island at her friend Pennie Lane's Rock and Roll Ranch in November 2007.

Over 25 limited edition archival prints collected from the 3 tales will be shown at Grass Hut Gallery in January.

View More Fairytales

About the artist:
Once upon a time, long, long ago, a little girl lost the ability to remember her dreams. In picture books, and aging tomes she took shelter in the grandiose images they generated in her imagination. The girl grew up, making music with an accordion that she always described as "soundtracks to films in her head." Eventually the pictures she was making music for became larger than her music could properly accompany or her small head could possibly contain. The girl then took up another instrument, a camera, that allowed her the proper sight necessary to capture the stories that had been running amok in her skull for years, and share them with other sets of eyes everywhere.

Fairytales is a follow up to her 2006 exhibition Ballet Supreme (Press Club, PDX), and her 2003 show Histrionic (Genuine Imitation Gallery, PDX). And was created in part as a companion to her upcoming musical release Hearts & Daggers a collaboration with Violinist/Vocalist Petra Haden, set for release in early 2008 by File Under: Music.