Fallen Princesses, RAPUNZEL, 2008 Not all of these girls are technically Princesses. Rather, this surreal and allegorical world brings together all the most enduring female characters from our collective childhood consciousness, whether they have their origins in Grimm, Disney or the folk tales of Hans Christian Andersen. Together, they represent a feminine archetype that, while born in the minds of long-dead European men, is today rooted deeper than ever in the hearts of little girls around the world: the fairy tale princess, her beauty, her virtue. Her total reliance on the arrival of a Prince Charming to drive her life story toward its destiny of love, wealth and everlasting happiness. Ok, we know that's not really how life works. In the real world, we grow up and quickly learn that adulthood is full of hard work and compromise. We will not live in a castle. In fact, in today's housing market, we will be lucky to buy a condo by the age of 35. Our spouses (for those of us able to find one) may cheat on us, disappoint us, embarrass us and possibly leave us. Those that don't will almost certainly bore us. Our candy-coloured childhood dreams have long ago evaporated and now belong to another time and place as unreal and distant as the moon.



The girl with the golden tresses who was once confined to an ivory tower is now trapped in a different sort of isolating circumstance, the personal battle with Cancer. Rapunzel is afraid of what her incapacity would do to Edward, she hides this from him and initially from her friends. As she attends chemotherapy sessions, her hair begins to fall out, and while Edward doesn't notice this (because he is blind) her friends do. Her friends want to help their suffering friend , some are steadfast and stand by her side. Some shy away based on their ignorance and fear.

Fallen Princesses, RAPUNZEL, 2008