My Art Rantings: Dolls

We are given the free will to choose from the day we are born, or rather, led to believe so because our freedom is rather limited and rarely free. We do whatever we choose to do but in fact, that choice has been made after careful evaluation and scrutiny due to consequences that might come. There is an invisible hand that nudges us towards the direction of the social norm. So, our “free” choices are governed by rules and regulations, and influenced by responsibilities and obligations. We are not unlike a doll, moved and posed by the society.

My art now is very much influenced by classical paintings (pure art) and also Japanese anime and manga which I grew up on. Fine art (pure art) has become so expensive and made exclusively for the rich due to tax, as there is very little incentive to support them. Due to this, a large amount of money and a larger amount of creative minds and artists venture into commercial art, and thus, all new ideas and styles are churned out in that realm. Commercial art's expression, styles and concepts are far fiercer and expressed better. I guess that is why my passion for art, though deeply rooted in the classical style, is still very much influenced by Japanese manga, anime and the Otaku culture.

Asian Ball Jointed Dolls, one of the new Otaku culture is a form of art which I am very much interested in. The collectors see the dolls as a manifestation of themselves. They can dress the dolls in ways they will never dress and become someone they can never be in real life.
I also see the dolls as a form of domination, To move the dolls in ways they cannot object to. Some sort of perversion maybe.

Hang. Woodblock print. The ultimate symbol of possession. Also, this piece is about the stereotyping of women, a symbol of fertility.