Tabitha Kyoko Moses

I was told to look at the artist Tabitha Kyoko Moses due to the use of dolls in her work. I think she refers to when the dolls are fogotton. They look like they are wrapped 'mumified' in fact. Part of history, gathering dust and collecting dirt. But then the artists finds them. Looking at the history of the doll, dolls were often used in burials to send of with the child. The doll is rather corpse like, all dead limbed. and they do represent the human. It seems oerhaps this is what Tabatha is playing with - the deathliness of the doll. Its like she is making these dolls for a child that is already dead, following the mumified beliefs for the afterlife.

The way she places the objects in museum is also interesting as here is a place where we collect parts of history. The work fits well with the other artefacts around it but also has a contemporary feel to it. There always seems like a hint of darkness, perhaps saying in life, there is always death.

I find the x-rays quite interesting. The dolls have an inside- this never normally comes to value when looking at a doll. It is normally about the outside - the facing of the doll. People may forget it has an inside at all. in a way, it gives them more of a human quality. These images seem quite exciting indeed.

Ron Mueck

He uses larger than life hyper-realism in his work. Such an amazing thing i think. You are faced with this new born baby. It is this wonderful creation but seems quite grotesque. You can see all the details like skin pores. etc. Seems very freaky. He works from birth all the way to death. This to me is extroadinary. Out of this world in a way. Something as small as a baby to be larger than a car. This is what i want to play with - the scale. I think the scale will be very important!

Hans Bellmer

Bellmer created several dolls with fragmented bodies that could be dismantled and arranged in various configurations. Then using the form of photography, he captured the image of the dolls in certain positions, often grotesque and in sexual positions. I think this is about death in a way as well as neglect, perhaps abuse. They are left there in these sexual positions, used for this reason. but they lie there empty, destroyed, abandoned, used. Even though they are dolls, the doll is a representation of the human and so you can feel this human conditions when you look at this work. I looks at fragments of the body, ie. 2 bums in the image above looking at certain parts of the body as fetishising.

Annette Messenger

Im looking at Annette Messenger due to the way sheuses doll figures. Below on the right is interesting as this is how i displayed some of my work. A lot of her work has the subjects of sexual and physical abuse,fragmentation of the body, sin, obsession with appearances, fairy tales, children, symbols, effigies, disguise, distortion, repetition. All these issues are surrounding women. Often using women's material and techniques.

Laura Ford

The scale to these pieces of our quite important to the pieces. They have to be life-size i guess for the more impact. it looks more certain. With the above work, im not sure if it is a real person or a doll/mannequin underneath the mask. This asks you whether it is going to move or not, gives me a slight panic if it will. Puts me on edge.

Again, below, is the same. I am on edge. If it moves i may be in trouble with those huge antlers. but, with the one below, i know it is not alive. It wouldn't be stood that still and it would be against animal rights. She normally has two types of characters, human and animals, dressing them up in fabrics, sometimes costumes.

Susan Hiller

4 synchronised video projections, quadrophonic sound.

"Susan Hiller's An Entertainment, 1990 - four video projectors and sound in a square room - is 26 minutes long, during which huge coloured images... are thrown against the wall; the soundtrack evokes a seaside audience as well as the murderous doings of Mr. Punch with his thrusting nose; entertainment clichés ("Oh yes he is! Oh no he isn't!") are menacingly intoned. Memories of Edward Munch and James Ensor... and the cruel caricatures of Regency London all spring to mind in Hiller's absorbing disquition on ritual and myth, vicious comedy, violence and death. The brutality of what passes for entertainment still erupts in London life, and Hiller has unnervingly traced one of its histories."

Richard Shone, Artforum, 1995

I was told to look at this due to the use ideas towards Punch and Judy. Punch and Judy is funny when your younger. But it is about beating up your wife, becoming the devil, intended to provoke shocked laughter.

susan Hiller uses this in her work ' An entertainment'. Looking at themes such as myth, ritual, death. Again, sadly i wasnt able to go to this installation and i think this is a huge part of the work, just like all art i guess. From her work, i also looked at some work by James Ensor.

His faces depict those in the Italian themes puppetry street performances, The Pupi-Sicilliani, Fratelli Pasqualino. His characters seem very surreal wearing masks that actually look like it is their faces. The colours suit the theme, quite sickly but fun. Humorous but terrifying. they all look at you and the style of painting feels dream-lie, not real. It is like they are laughing at you.

Grayson Perry and Mary Reid Kelly - You make me Iliad

This is Claire. She is the female alter-ego of Grayson Perry. To me, it is very doll - like. It has a great performance to his work as well as his ceramic vases he creates.

I think in my work I will add a performance element to my work. I do like the idea of dressing as dolls and so may take this further. Instead of being a 'Claire' for my alter-ego, I am much more interested in the aspect of play. Play is the main idea for my work and i want the dolls to play with the audience.

I have recently been to an exhibit by Mary Reid Kelley named ' You Make me Iliad' (image above). She created a film with three main characters, but the film looks like an animation. I love the idea of creating this animation lookalike. Is it real? fantasy? Who is it? How is it made? After you watch the film you do realise that it isn't an animation. You notice the face paint. This plays with the audience.