Magical Nature: Reimagining the Brothers Grimm

The world-renowned Grimm's Fairy Tales, originally known as the Children's and Household Tales, was first published on 20 December 1812 by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. The Brothers Grimm wove together their collection of children's legends and folktales, totalling 211 stories, into their own interpretations. The book is, in the most fundamental sense, magical.

As a collection of German children's stories, Grimm's Fairy Tales celebrates the largest circulation in the world, and is, with the exception of the Bible, the most widely distributed book in the German language. It is, in fact, a by-product of the interdisciplinary studies conducted by the Brothers Grimm. As bibliographers, philologists, lexicographers and folklorists, they collected, organized, and compiled a large body of German history, poetry, folklore and etymology. The Grimm's Fairy Tales are, in other words, an unintentionally created cultural heritage.

As a means to recreate the magical world in the Grimm's Fairy Tales, this exhibition invited seven contemporary Chinese artists and art collectives to reinterpret six classic fairy tales, creating an immersive installation, providing a dream-like, interactive experience.

Artists featured in the exhibition are: Li Muyan / Xu Chenxuan / Fang Ning / Jiang Yiao / Kan Zhiheng / Katie Li-Wang / Quan Quan / Wang Tianai / Li Sirui / Jiang Feilian / Hu Yunhao / Peng You / Huang Chenyu / Wu Xingzhuo / Shao Yichen / Hu Yining / Zhang Dongye / Chen Sijie / Liu Kaile/ Li Shiming/ Jie Ailun/ Liu Yi/ Wu Wensheng/ Lü Jinxi/ Xie Chengying/ Zhu Zhiyuan/ Yin Yi/ Zhao Yuanxi/ Zhao Yuanxu/ Song Xinyan/ Fang Ziyuan/ Wang Haoming.