Audrey S. Bernstein

Fairy Tales

Since the beginning of civilization, fairy tales have played an important role in the collective consciousness of children and adults.  Fairy tales are not unique; these stories circulate in a variety of adaptations reconfigured by each telling.  

Fairy tales are up close and personal.  In the imaginative world of children, fairy tales allow them to escape the normal realities of everyday life and delight in the power and pleasure of killing the monsters.  They encounter cruelty and kindness, and get a taste of the profound enigmas of the adult world.  They offer roadmaps pointing the way to romance and riches, power and privilege, and most importantly a way out of danger.  

The staying power of these stories, their widespread popularity suggests that they must be addressing significant human issues and morals.  They are the stories of our collective unconscious and imagination.

I maintain a constant curiosity about the artistic processes that convey the intersection of images, memories and iconography.  By incorporation painting into my digital collages, I can play on the theme of “what is and what can be”, eliminating obvious distinctions between reality and illusion.  The elimination of the distinction between various art forms challenges the viewers to free themselves from what is real or imaginary.  Instead, a unique rendering emerges that blurs such distinct definitions and encourages the viewer to reflect on the story itself, whether it be fact or fiction.