paper dolls

Here are some more works for the show at eQuinox. These ones are actual paper dolls, painted with watercolour and mounted in mat windows (ready for easy framing). A new technique for me, but one I love and am bound to do more of from this point onward.

I love the naive child-like idea of paper dolls, and also the old time folk craft memories that they rekindle. While making these I remembered a 5 day road trip back when I was only 4 (before my sister was born). We were moving to the top end of Australia, a long way away. I remember keeping myself and my soft-toys entertained for that long long road trip by making paper dolls. The backseat became crowded with tiny hand-holding people.
(Actually, come to think of it, that was probably a strange thing giving scissors to a 4 year old in the backseat of a moving vehicle! But, hey, that was back before seatbelts, bike helmets, and sunscreen!)

The theme of my body of work for this show is "connection": the various ways it manifests, and what it means in different circumstances. While these paper-dolls are literally connected, they can also represent a community, togetherness, a connection in place and background. A solidarity.



Dolls Dancing


...detail


This one is a little bit romantic...

Across a Crowded Room