Fair(y) Tales

  • Dates
    2007 - 2017
  • Author
  • Topics Contemporary Issues, Fine Art, Documentary
  • Locations Austria, Poland, Italy, Germany, Slovenia, Slovakia, France, Czech Republic, Lithuania

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

Robert Rutoed: FAIR(Y) TALES

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 Rutoed 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.

„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.”

© Robert Rutoed - Funeral Fair - Undertakers' fashion show
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Funeral Fair - Undertakers' fashion show

© Robert Rutoed - Agricultural Fair - Photo shooting of the breeding catalog
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Agricultural Fair - Photo shooting of the breeding catalog

© Robert Rutoed - Agricultural Fair - ShowSheen Finishing Mist
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Agricultural Fair - ShowSheen Finishing Mist

© Robert Rutoed - Dental Fair
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Dental Fair

© Robert Rutoed - House & Garden Fair
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House & Garden Fair

© Robert Rutoed - Beauty Fair - Synchronised hairdressing
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Beauty Fair - Synchronised hairdressing

© Robert Rutoed - Caravan & Camping Fair
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Caravan & Camping Fair

© Robert Rutoed - Interior Design Fair
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Interior Design Fair

© Robert Rutoed - Holiday & Travel Fair
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Holiday & Travel Fair

© Robert Rutoed - Coin Fair
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Coin Fair

© Robert Rutoed - Art Fair
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Art Fair

© Robert Rutoed - Kitchen & Bath Fair
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Kitchen & Bath Fair

© Robert Rutoed - Hunting Fair
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Hunting Fair

© Robert Rutoed - Modelling Fair
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Modelling Fair

© Robert Rutoed - Beauty Fair
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Beauty Fair

© Robert Rutoed - Automobile Fair
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Automobile Fair

© Robert Rutoed - Baby Fair
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Baby Fair

© Robert Rutoed - Erotic Fair
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Erotic Fair

© Robert Rutoed - Anime & Cosplay Fair
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Anime & Cosplay Fair

© Robert Rutoed - Monitoring Fair - Self-portrait via thermographic camera (Lens temperature 20.5 °C)
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Monitoring Fair - Self-portrait via thermographic camera (Lens temperature 20.5 °C)

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