Alba

Dolls were known for 30 thousand years. However, before they made their way into children’s hands as toys, they served magical and ritual purposes for adults. They were objects of cult, amulets, fetishes, tools that served to accomplish specific goals. They protected, healed and cared about their owner but could also become causes of misfortunes and illnesses. Using dolls, people could connect to the spirits of their ancestors or to their gods, they participated in magical rituals to aid daily life and bring bad luck to enemies.

In my work, I refer to these original doll roots. I look for inspiration in fairy tales and legends, folk tales and amazing stories in which the fantastic world, full of invisible beings, permeates the visible world of people, animals and plants. That is why Horka Dolls dolls are not quite animals and not exactly people, though they are created in their likeness.

Svala

Horka Dolls are peculiar things with soul, surreal beings that join elements of realism and fiction and because of this evoke extreme feelings, from awe to fear. They are a kind of homunculi or golems, where in lifeless matter a seemingly human particle of life lies enchanted.

Mara

Aka

I hang a heart on the button. It is in that moment when a doll is born. Then I sit still and gaze at it for as long as it takes until it reveals its name in a whisper.

Evocative dolls by Klaudia Gaugier.