The Woods

SERIES/EXHIBITIONS

Wild places like the woods are imprinted on our imagination by childhood's classic European fairytales — the stories of Charles Perrault, the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson a constant even today.

Rooted in centuries-old folklore, these tales of magic and allegory are commonly set in the woods — places of peril, refuge or adventure — and sometimes all three.

In consequence, the moment we enter such untamed spaces — so separate, so wild, so full of secrets — whether as children or adults, our imaginations leap with ideas and visions let loose from those stories. They summon an involuntary, preternatural shiver of anticipation and unease.

The imminent, lurking always on the periphery, is the thrill inherent in the mystery of every wood or forest, heightened by the sense of enclosure. The stilled beauty holds both darkness and light, evoking the opaque magic of the old fairytales — sometimes sinister, sometimes benign, but always evanescent.

Each work in the series is gossamer, a story glimpsed, leaving the viewer to construct a private tale from their own instinctive reaction — peril, refuge or adventure.

All images from The Woods © Marea Reed 2013

All prints 60x90cm, Archival pigment print on fibre based cotton rag

Edition of 8 - please contact re individual editions numbers