Caution and Reassurance

8 - 29 November 2013
Overview
Michael Doolan (Black) Grumpy, 2013 ceramic & auto enamel 42 x 45 x 30cm
Michael Doolan
(Black) Grumpy, 2013
ceramic & auto enamel
42 x 45 x 30cm

"I guide readers to the entrance of toy land and usher them through its gates, but then keep asking the members of my tour group to consider whether, having found it an attractive and exciting place to visit, would they really want to live there forever."

 

...Lois Kuznets, When Toys Come Alive

New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1994, p. 20

 My work, inspired by popular culture and finding expression in a “world of the toy” de- and re-construct childhood imagery. They engage the viewer with this world. Intentionally set up to be viewed through the eyes of an adult while still allowing us to participate childlike, in this “world of the toy”. 

 

My aim is to capture and reveal the invisible, hidden qualities of the miniature.

Their featureless countenance employed to subvert “my” subject’s visually-friendly nature. A major feature of these works is their high gloss reflective finish.

This mirror-like finish will force the viewer to engage with the work as an active and intimate participator, so they observe themselves as a distorted reflection. There is an intention with this work to question the way we perceive ourselves in the world, in this case, my world of the toy, around them.

 

Michael Doolan 2013

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