Fairytales: Petra Collins and Alexa Demie

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I think a lot of those folktales or the storytelling comes from all of the pain of what our country went through, especially under the Soviet regime,” she said. “They’re super psychedelic…and sort of like, violent,” she added, recalling an illustrated tale where a girl sells her body for goats. “I definitely felt like the darkness in these stories.” Collins found resonance with this novel about an outcast girl who believes she’s a mermaid after she finished reading “The Pisces.” “It ruined me. It was a scary accurate depiction of coming of age,” she said. “The main character flutters between what is real and what isn’t – and it’s what I did with ‘Fairy Tales.’” Fairy Tales is] acollaboration with the photographer Petra Collins -- a body of work that reimagines the female creatures who inhabit folk- and fairy-tales, who are often cast as one-dimensional monsters or temptresses. Their recent photo book "Fairy Tales" features Demie as nine different personas, including a faerie, siren, banshee and water sprite, as well as Hungarian legends like Tűz Anya (meaning'fire mother') that Collins grew up with. It explores the femininity and sexuality of mythological beings, but in the context of very human spaces, such as teenage bedrooms, medical facilities, parking lots and exotic dancing clubs."—CNN

Aesthetically, Collins’ images have been variously but consistently described as dream-like and feminine, making her fixation on fantasy — and the fever dream that is girlhood — fitting. But in a bit of a plot twist, she says she’s long been inspired by coming-of-age, body horror movies, like The Exorcistand Carrie.She also loves the work of fellow Canadian David Cronenberg. Curated by Petra Collins, featuring artists Arvida Bystrom, Harley Weir, Sandy Kim, Jeanette Hayes, Kristie Muller, and more. Forward by Tavi Gevinson. Discharge The way that I learned everything in art was through collaboration. So whenever I have a subject, I approach it as a really exciting collaboration…I’m like, ‘What do you want to feel like? Or what do you want to possess? What image do you want to put out?’” she says, adding: “I think the whole thing with shooting subjects, celebrities, and talent is that you really want their input. And then you also want to bring something new to them too.”

Collins’s work models both mundane and fantastical environments, turning A-list celebrities, models, and musicians into characters of an original and personal narrative, with much of her work playing out like scenes from a film. Having worked with so many prominent figures in the public eye, a collaboration between Collins and actress/singer Alexa Demie was not a reach. Known for her breakout role as Maddy on HBO’s “ Euphoria ,” Demie, her performance, and her unreal beauty made her an overnight sensation in the realms of social media and Hollywood alike. With a shared love of and belief in magic between the two, a project this esoterically imaginative was absolutely fated for these artists. With the book’s Hungarian title Miért vagy te, ha lehetsz én is? Collins asks us: Why be you, when you can be me? Collins uses the camera as the third person. It captures historical truths (such as a time and place) and an emotional reality with a complicated relationship to intention and perception. Working with the sculptor Sarah Sitkin, Collins creates moulds of her body as well as her sisters to gain ownership, in a world where our bodies live in multiple realities. This new body of work features Collins first experiments with self-portraiture. 2019 OMG, I’m Being Killed Fairy Tales is] acollaboration with the photographer Petra Collins — a body of work that reimagines the female creatures who inhabit folk- and fairy-tales, who are often cast as one-dimensional monsters or temptresses. Their recent photo book "Fairy Tales" features Demie as nine different personas, including a faerie, siren, banshee and water sprite, as well as Hungarian legends like Tűz Anya (meaning'fire mother') that Collins grew up with. It explores the femininity and sexuality of mythological beings, but in the context of very human spaces, such as teenage bedrooms, medical facilities, parking lots and exotic dancing clubs."—CNN Below, Collins gives five recommendations for coming-of-age and romantic tales tinged with fantastical elements.

Alexa Demie and Petra Collins reimagine the mythical female beings of folk- and fairy-tales. Petra Collins/Rizzoli But “Fairy Tales” is also Collins’ interpretation of how our virtual lives have rapidly evolved during the pandemic, she explained, calling the digital space a “mythical reality” where many have become fixated on how they present themselves and facial-altering image filters have flourished. Collins calls this novel about a woman who rebounds from a relationship with a merman one of her “favorite books ever.” She explained: “It is a beautiful depiction of addiction, mental health, love and loss – all told through the lens of a woman in love with a merman.” Playing pretend is by no means a novel aspect of childhood—but Collins has taken that ethos and made a buzzy career out of it. In just seven years, the Toronto native has established her own uniquely hazy, female-gaze-centric aesthetic; become both muse and protégé to photographer Ryan McGinley; shot countless magazine covers; hosted exhibitions at MoMA and Art Basel, and directed short films and music videos for the likes of Cardi B and Olivia Rodrigo. (Her Good 4 U music video for the 18-year-old singer was most recently nominated for a Grammy—Rodrigo FaceTimed Collins during this very interview to congratulate her.)

Each of the nine tales are set in unique spaces, ranging from suburban homes and parking lots to fantastical sets. Petra and Alexa’s chapters of elves, mermaids, sirens, water sprites, fallen angels, fairies, witches, and banshees blend their own stories with retold fairy tales. The photos combine elements of camp, prosthetics, and shibari in a surreal update to the imagery of the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, Charles Perrault, and others. 2020 Miért vagy te, ha lehetsz én is? Upholding the undertones of classic fantasy literature, “ Fairy Tales” carries darker, erotic messages baked into its nine chapters, both subconciously and obviously. “Banshee,” a story following two sisters avoiding an encounter with a banshee, plays out like a glamorous urban legend told over a campfire. A unique approach to this kind of fiction, we see the aftermath of the subsequent encounter, resulting in the two sisters becoming physically one with this “long-tressed woman.” In the eighth chapter, “Water Sprite,” the “weird girl” in a college dormitory creates a safe haven in her room, while the exterior campus believes her self-imposed isolation to be something much more sinister. Throughout the series, the personas each contend with a conflicted sense of self, recalling the film portraits that made Collins a defining voice of girlhood in the 2010s, as well as her recent music videos for pop star Olivia Rodrigo.