Fair(y) Tales

An expedition through the grotesque realm of must-haves and mega-trends

It seems as if there is a constant factor amidst the diversity of our dreams: The longing for a heavenly life, the hope for permanent feeling of happiness. Since time immemorial, this long awaited, beautiful earthly paradise has been distant. But, in reality, are all the places equally distant from paradise? Are some places not closer? Maybe even enticingly close?

To explore these questions, the photographer Robert Rutöd went into the burlesque realm of trade fairs and exhibition areas. An almost ten-year expedition through materialized world of dreams is now visually retold in Fair(y) Tales.

„Fair(y) Tales is the sum of impressions of a world that has fascinated me since my childhood. Earlier, there used to be only two all-purpose fairs per year, but now there is probably no area of life about which a fair cannot be organized. Nowadays, as before, I gladly let myself be enchanted and accept the invitation as often as possible, to dive into this world of attractions and superlatives. I feel just like Alice in Wonderland as I walk from the taster massage to a certified sleep consultant, from the undertakers‘ fashion show to the wine tasting, from the Garden of Earthly Delights to the Jacob‘s Ladders in the garden festival. In the turmoil between the horns of award-winning cattle champions, waiting their turn for the photo shoot of the breeding catalog, it can sometimes get a little queasy. But as the saying goes: They all lived happily until their deaths.”