The transformation of humans into animal form, particularly in fairy-tales is often provoked by some sort of mis-deed or as a punishment. It is also representational of the young woman's lack of preparation for sexual relations- the male appears as a "beast" of sorts, and only transforms back to human form when the girl has reached sexual maturity. Similar stories, such as Sleeping Beauty or Snow White, use sleep as a similar device- the sleep of adolescence before sexual maturity. 

Animal Groom stories were also important to, "help young women facing arranged marriages to hope for a happy future and accept the match their father proposed, however unappealing they find the prospective husband. They will come to love him, the story reassures them. As Angela Carter acerbically commented, Mme de Beaumont was in the business of "house-training the id". (Source: "Animals in Fairy tales", Marina Warner, The Guardian, 16th October 2009)

My research came primarily from Fairy-Tales themselves, including the aforementioned Beauty and the Beast, as well as Mr. Fox (an english fairy-tale based on Bluebeard)- which inspired the title of the series "Be Bold, Be Bold, But Not Too Bold, Lest That Your Heart's Blood Should Run Cold." 

Angela Carter, most notably her series of short stories in the collected works "The Bloody Chamber" as well as "The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault" were also key sources. I became interested in her work due to it's feminist interpretation of traditional tales which place a strong emphasis on female agency, as well as rubbishing the trope of the "male". Stories such as "The Bloody Chamber" feature strong, matriarchal characters which replace the need for masculine intervention in times of distress or danger.

As with all my research projects, I was grounded by a strong theoretical basis, drawing from works by Bruno Bettelheim- "The Uses of Enchantment" and Marina Warner- particularly "Fantastic Metamorphosis, Other Worlds: Ways of Telling the Self" and "From the Beast to the Blonde: Fairy-Tales and their Tellers".

This particular series was featured in an exhibition "2&3" at 4 BLNK WOLS in Aberdeen Arts Centre, Aberdeen from September- October 2009 in association with Smart Consultants. The show featured work from several Gray's School of Art graduates including myself, among them Callum Kellie, Louise Emslie, Keiran McCrudan and Tina Hay.

I plan on developing my research into an animated film project in future.