Once upon a time one could leave their door open wide, stray off the path and on occasion, accept kindness from a stranger. Not so. The reasons why fairy tales were written are as varied as the tales themselves. Whether they were written in order to dupe the public in the name of nationalism, or in some cases, simply the concoctions of an opium addled mind - they have remained cautionary tales through the centuries.

The modern tale of temptations, ignorance or misplaced trust leading to tragedy is a common one. Today’s world offers much ripe fruit just off the path, waiting to be plucked and consumed - consequences be dammed. With the saturation of information available to today’s young - one could ask how the message of caution seems as beyond reach or flatly ignored as it is. Like sacrificial lambs, the youth of the ‘Drink Me’ generation are the ‘Little Red Caps’ of today.

The artificial, idealised past concocted from hollow misplaced memories by the older generation - is simply that - a concoction - as fanciful, surreal and false as the fairy tales themselves. Dark deeds went unreported in family circles, in neighborhoods and in church meetings - unspoken tales of sadness. 

Stories with a wolf but rarely a prince that have only been told in the minds of the victims, read and re-read again and again, screamed or whispered in the dark - tales never to see the light or destined to be recited aloud.

As innocence or weakness will always be - alas the predator will remain.

Artist's note:
Only the titles of these works are notable here, they are the Latin names of the butterflies species found in the image. Again the butterfly imagery is there to show fragility, a short life of flighty and reckless wonderment, ultimately ending in an untimely demise. A presence of vibrant colour of nymph-like movement suddenly made dark and still.