Doll

(This series dates from 2000 to 2005 and is concerned with being female, raising a daughter, and being a female in academia. The following is the statement that accompanied the work in exhibitions)

We are a fearful society. This is evident in our news, our politics, and in most areas of our lives. As children, there are acceptable ways to deal with fear, as the lines between reality and imagination are blurred. This series began as a means of recovering some of that. The specific doll came from my mother’s childhood, accompanied me through my childhood, and was small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, strung loosely enough to withstand most poses, and bore enough of a resemblance to the Alice of my beloved Through the Looking Glass to satisfy me that indeed the lines between reality and imagination were blurred. A doll is, for a child, human enough to allow a semblance of reality, yet not human enough to be almost indestructible. The doll survives. The use of the word ‘knotted’ refers to the strings that are knotted to hold the doll together, as well as a Norwegian word for faerie or small person. The series was begun for an exhibition in Norway so the use of that word was intentional. To some, the images may be disturbing but it is my hope that for those who can remember a child’s way of dealing with the “daily demons” they may be healing, humorous, ironic yet hopeful, as the means of escape (ladders, ropes, etc.) are hiding within the imagery.