Dolls fascinate me either in paintings or as play things. I have always had a fascination with dolls and why children and adults are so attracted to them. We form our identity in relation to others, but then somehow, we feel compelled to preserve this image of ourselves, not just in our lifetime, but for the generations to come. In other words, we become self-absorbed and hope that others will remember us when we pass. People often collect old dolls to remember moments in history. Dolls sit in the middle ground between our identity and the external world. Dolls can absorb the difficulties of being in the world if we are willing to project our troubles onto an object rather than hold on to the troubles ourselves. We see this in the behaviour of children who cling to their dolls in difficult moments, but as adults we tend to think this is an immature practice to be talking and seeking comfort from dolls. However, dolls can absorb many of the dangers we face as humans and many cultures still use dolls for healing. Dolls can alert us to the problems in the world and they can help us cope by liberating our imagination. This connection between person and doll is especially important for those who are suffering or those who have experienced traumas. Equally, it is important for those who just enjoy the experience of having a doll. Children talk to their dolls without hesitation. As adults we tend to forego this communication, instead we must struggle with the constant internal questions. Dolls can become our companions and our crystal ball if we allow them to free our thoughts and imagination.
Dolls in some form or other have existed from time immemorial. They have been stick-figures in the sand, images taken from cloud formations, or strange looking artifacts created by ancient medicine practitioners and shamans. There is no end to the human imagination and its reflection in the creation of dolls. Indeed, dolls play an import role in bringing the human psyche into play at its deepest and most valuable levels of creativity.
Dolls have been a part of human history for thousands of years. Archaeologists have unearthed numerous ancient dolls, some made of stone and others created with plants and fibres woven into complex fabrics. Dolls are symbolic of the various stages in birth, life, death and all that is in between. Dolls are our remembrance, sometimes referred to as the afterlife because we project these difficult questions onto our dolls. Dolls outlive us, and in this respect, they carry our history forward into the future and speak to us of the past. Many people collect heirloom dolls that can be passed from one generation to another.
Over the millennia dolls have been a crucial feature in human existence across the world and they appear in every level of human society. Dolls can comfort us, they can make us feel needed and secure, they can also be scary and lead us into believing there is another hidden world of bedevilment. Scary dolls force us to confront the demons in the deeper levels of human consciousness. They challenge our beliefs and feed our imagination and inquisitiveness.
In retrospect, dolls have reflected our cultures, they have been mirrors of who we are or who we would like to be. They have been playthings for children, tools for learning, statues to commemorate historical figures and mannequins to hang clothes on in shop windows. Dolls are everywhere and they come in many shapes and forms. Dolls are both private and public in their use and in their existence. They can be toys or exhibits in museums. Many get locked away, discarded or exist beyond any consideration of their original purpose, while others get recycled into new works of art (art dolls).
My dolls reflect my own personal interests, which are art, nature, mythology, history and medicine and more importantly therapy and healing. While each of the dolls may have a very different appearance, they share much in common. Each doll represents a desire to delve into the existential world of myths, mysteries and dreams. These are the subtle components that fuel our imagination and urge us to become artists and creators representing the world as we experience it. Doll making is an art just as painting and sculpture are forms off art. It was seeing dolls in paintings that opened my mind to the world of art in its many and varied forms.