Dolls and Dresses
These series appeared from the collision of two very different visual experiences: the discovery of the very Old Russian icons in Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow and watching famous Bjork’s musical video “Violently Happy”, where for a very brief moment a rag doll appears on the screen. I was deeply touched by both such culturally different experiences and was drawn to express that in my work. I wanted to understand that simple aesthetic that old icons carry, which typically have very simple central composition, yet have such a powerful visual effect! Now the rag doll wasn’t the main character in the video and was tossed around with disregard… but somehow it just stuck with me. I was drawn to personalise that doll or better yet - to put it on a pedestal, make it the main living character of my own story!
As usual I use translucent layers of oils on canvas here, but they are very decorative, much more distinctive. I play with different patterns, often imitating a fabric of some sort. The characters themselves are neither alive nor dead or both. Sorry, I know that is strange.
Here I think about why girls play with dolls? What are their roles? How does that affect them? What kind of societal roles are they getting ready for? Are they eventually becoming dolls themselves…? What does this mean?
