dolls...

YAY! a partially sunny day! i've been needing to get photographs taken of new work. here's one of the most recent - a throw back to The Paper Doll Project. i've been seeing more and more how closely tied the project is to my "regular" art practice. so close in fact that there's beginning to be almost no distinction between the two bodies of work. both deal with issues of loneliness, isolation, being lost in the masses, and the attempt to find some sort of comfort. in the case of The Paper Doll Project, the comfort that comes from copying an ideal...


doll collection 2
30" x 22"
ink on paper
2008

drawings like this actually take a pretty long time to do. each doll is hand drawn. i did not use a stamp. it's important in this work to have tiny variations between the dolls so that it's more an exploration of the ATTEMPT to copy... and the failure of not being able to really do so.


detail

i'm interested in how the attempt to copy (and the failure to to get it perfect) guides identity construction. we all have role models to look up to, heros, and ideals that we strive to meet. when the model is based exclusively on gender, what is lost in the process of trying to copy or conform? a standardization takes place and complying with that standardization is a loss in and of itself. that loss becomes a significant part/influence of a person's identity and their view of the world.