The Wishing Apple
Digital print and color pencils
11.6×16.5 inches
2014
Available
Wajeeha Batool’s work speaks of notions of identity, through the use of characters that do not exist in reality, but are present around us in the form of media, cinema, or fairy tales. Medium like fairytales can be an inherent part of our social fabric, influencing the way we see the world around us from an very early age. Batool deconstructs the dreams, fairy tales and movies that are part of our childhood and adult culture, selecting images and manipulating them digitally or through painting. Often these works are displayed as installations that include domestic objects, juxtaposed with imagery or text, selected from these fairy tales.
Batool’s piece The Wishing Apple shows interplay between fantasy and reality. As the popular story narrates, the apple in the hands of Snow White is a poisonous promise of the fulfilment of her wishes. By superimposing her own image onto Snow White’s, Batool cleverly connects the fairytale to reality, suggesting that in reality one has to go through hardships and obstacles to achieve their goal or needs in life. Hence, despite the knowledge of the apple’s ultimate fatality, the character is willing to consume it because it is promising the immediate fulfillment of her wishes and desires.
Living and working in Lahore, Pakistan, Wajeeha Batool has completed her BFA from Beaconhouse National University, Pakistan.
Photo Credits | Aasif Khan