UV Garden, Fairy Offering Flowers to Iris, 2008 (Silkscreen on acrylic, UV light and light...

Many Victorian fairy paintings contain sinister elements of violence contrasting with their otherwise enchanting and ethereal qualities. Collishaw borrowed some of these characters to perform in a three-dimensional Zoetrope, an updated version of a Nineteenth Century animation device. As the machine rotates, an animated scene appears that is both compelling and unsavoury. Like many acts of violence in painting or the cinema it is easy to become emotionally detached to vicious behaviour. The Zoetrope's uncannily fast revolution evokes the rush of adrenaline triggered by outbreaks of violence.