Life is not a fairy tale. But in actual fact even fairy tales are full of horrifying elements. Snow White is poisoned, Little Red Riding Hood’s granny is eaten, and Hansel and Gretel are abandoned in the woods by their parents. And yet parents are still happily reading these stories to their children without considering the fact that they might not be so innocent after all. Joëlle Lemmers has made Once upon a Time, contemporary versions of the traditional fairy tales, with current events that are as cruel as the things happening in the original stories. She has designed a set of recognisable dolls representing everyday people, to go with them. In doing so she has linked fairy tales to hard reality: after Little Red Riding Hood was saved from the wolf who abused her, she was scarred for life, and lived unhappily ever after...