Kukiełka Walt, 2015, 12x14 inches, Mixed media collage & gouache on paper.
Matryoshki: 1976-2013, 2014, 1976: 2 x 1 inches; Walter: 13 x 6.25 inches, Gouache, ink and collage on cut-out paper.
The painted paper cut-out Matryoshka Dolls or Russian nesting dolls portray significant years of my life from 1976 to 2013 and my parents (Cora and Walter) as the two largest dolls. Each doll is painted in great detail, portraying a certain emotion related to a specific year/event. This transitional work is a step towards a greater narrative in which the matryoshka dolls (self-portraits) act as a sort of puppet – the doll as self but also having an outer-body experience. As each doll is stacked inside of another (or on top of since they are not three-dimensional), my 2013 self contains all my selves – I see this like having many characters inside of me, each with a different story to tell.
Matryoshki, 2014, Detail of Installation, 3/4 view of relief paintings extended from wall.
Matryoshki: 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980
Matryoshki: 1984, 1985, 1986
Matryoshki: 1988, 1989, 1991
Matryoshki: 1993, 1996, 1999
Matryoshki: 2001, 2004, 2007
Matryoshki: 2009, 2010, 2013
Matryoshki: Cora & Walter
Detail of Walter
Puppet in White Robe, 2016, 8x6.5 inches, c-print and gouache on paper.
Mosquitos in Białowieża, 2012, 28x21x1.5 inches, C-print, Asian paper and ink on paper.
Detail at angle to show three dimensionality of mosquitos.