Kaylie - Generational Skins Forecasted Plan

I chose to create a mold of a Monster High Vanity Doll, in part because of the designers choice to create a two-headed doll form. Below is a picture of the original doll.

My goal is to explore the nature of dolls and their role in societies both past and present. Dolls have undergone a variety of identities through the action of play and have at various points of history been symbols of innocence, wealth, heritage, and more recently, sexuality. These "generations" of meaning have not  succeeded one another, but rather compounded into our current condensed, and extremely potent view of dolls. I, and many other artists, have made the argument that the same compounded meanings applied to dolls have also become applicable to the female form.

My goal is to tease out and reflect these compounded generations of meaning in my own interpretations of dolls and female figures. I hope to use this project as an opportunity to create the first installment of a series of large two-headed dolls that juxtapose supposed meaning with the reality of living within a pre-established paradigm of historical references. The context of the female form can be liberating or confining, depending on the individual's interpretation of that context. My dolls will explore and unveil the many layers of meaning associated with the portrayal of the female form and how it relates to the actuality of modern female experience as seen through my lens and the scope of women close to me.

I intend to continue working the with the hollow shell casting of Polytek's EasyFlo 120 plastic that I used for my Trump fries castings. I feel that it is important, at least in the early renditions of these dolls to maintain the "Barbie" false quality of plastic and the EasyFlo 120 offers a quick setting she'll that is not only lightweight but can also be sanded and painted. The doll's torso and first head will be cast hollow, and then the second head (also cast hollow) will be affixed using a plastic based apoxy or apoxie sculpt to allow me to pose and posture the heads. The limbs and legs for each doll will be crafted separately out of either foam, wood, cloth, or clay, depending on the dolls conceptual form and relation to dolls made at other times in history.

The final form of my first doll is still in consideration. I intend for all of these dolls to be portraits of sorts, reflecting my personal mantra that a faceted identity is not a fragmented one. However, since some of these projects will result in fairly recognizable portraits of individuals, I am in the process of seeking permission from the women that I would like to work with to give me permission to portray their likeness and intimate scope of the world.