Worry Dolls
Series of three
Bronze
Bagaha ‘I always talked to bear if I was angry’ (Male 44 years)
Zacoalco de Torres Emotional Upholstery
People and objects come and go through out our lives. The void that is left behind can be intolerable. Anxiety seeps in, darkness hovers, but something catches your attention out of the corner of your eye. A glimmer that becomes a safety net. A prop waiting for your memory to cloak it with the familiar.
All the objects that I have created are the result of a lengthy process, a metamorphosis. Either the complex intricacies that are required to transform paper and textiles into bronze. The selection, shaping and carving of wood. Layering form, colour and words in screen printing. Pattern making, stitching and stuffing fabric. The collection of personal narratives and the academic research that provides the foundations of a concept, specifically the ‘transitional object’.
The immeasurable qualities of the transitional object are one of the most valuable concepts we have. The embedded amulet and talismanic powers, the ritualistic routine, the emotional dependency span childhood and adulthood. I am continuously intrigued by the ignition of life, that fuels an inanimate object into the mythical world of the ‘real’.