Project Proposal

First Thoughts

For this project I wanted to explore the idea of memories distorting over time both naturally and by suggestion. This came from seeing old children's toys in museums and personal collections that look creepy and unsettling to us now, but as kids we loved them and constantly carried them around with us. I believe part of what makes old dolls so creepy to us now is mostly in their production. Most were hand made, with eyelashes and detailed faces, whereas nowadays they are mass produced with painted on eyebrows, colourful eyes and non-human structures. 

This idea of the uncanny valley with the dolls is what makes them so creepy and unnerving nowadays. We are so used to our toys looking like toys, so when they look more realistic we are unnerved. This has only become a problem now though as we have become accustomed to unrealistic standards of commercialised products.

                                  

   

Reborn Dolls

There is however one huge exception for all modern dolls looking more unrealistic, and they are 'reborn dolls'. These dolls have been transformed by artists to look like a realistic human infant. The trend started in the late 1990s in the UK and US as a way for artists to hone their skills on making the most realistic doll they could, but it has evolved into a way people can deal with the grief of losing a baby.

For some, the dolls can provide a therapeutic benefit. They are made so realistic that they have veins, pores, tears and saliva. There are some that can even mimic breathing and a beating heart. It's because of this that many grieving parents use them to cope. They have the same weight as a real baby, even having to support its head, and have the same smell. These parents, so lost in their grief over losing or being unable to have a child, can hold and care for this baby as if it were their own. They can even take them out with them in public, as to the untrained eye, they come across as real, the only give away being they don't cry or need feeding.

This idea of a doll, or other inanimate object, being used to comfort its holder is one I wanted to focus on throughout my project. 

                             

Comfort and Familiarity

As a whole, comfort is what makes us feel good and familiar is what we are used to, so both are intertwined a lot in our lives. The whole idea of 'comfort zones' is knowing what we like and staying 'safe' in little bubbles. We get set in our routines and ideas and resist change due to fear of the unknown.  This ideology can be seen most in children and their attachment to inanimate objects, such as toys, blankets and even scrap material. It is most often seen in the western world, as children usually sleep separate from their parents at an earlier age. 

This detachment from their parents, their 'safe space', leads them to find comfort elsewhere. As humans we anthropomorphise objects (apply human characteristics or behaviours) and when done by a child, this can lead to a dependant attachment to the object. This idea is shown perfectly by the movie 'Toy Story'. Although as adults we can understand that toys or objects can't speak or move themselves, most of us can also say we did the same thing as children, or at least wished it was true at some point. 

What interests me the most however, is how people can form these kinds of attachments to objects the general population (or even future generations) find disturbing or creepy.