Imagine that all you knew about being an adult you had gleaned from the dolls of your childhood. Who would you be? What would your home look like? How would you express sexuality and gender? (Would the shape of your feet allow you to wear flats?)
These are the questions that artists Tara Conley and Tria Wood asked in creating My Life as a Doll, currently installed at DiverseWorks art (okay, maybe not the one about wearing flats). Sculptor Conley and Writer Wood have created a fantastical residence for a fictional woman who lives her life as a doll. Each room of this home takes the form of a page in a book. As the initially seductive simplicity of her home give way to the perilous details of her life the audience is asked to engage in a complex dialogue about power structures, childhood expectations, and gender distinctions that take root early on and continue to shape us as adults.
Wood and Conley will walk visitors through their dystopic fantasy-land Tuesday, December 13 starting at 7pm. Free admission and open to the public.