NO-Dolls

The most recent development of the Invisibili project, in collaboration with Piam Onlus, consists of the sculptural-textile group NO-Dolls.
In this shot you can see the works in the collective exhibition Teatro Nero, in Accademia Albertina.
All the works of the group were made with recycled fabrics, including the ribbons for the installation.

I want underline how women and girls, victims of trafficking, are exploited as if they were dolls.
These are silhouettes taken from previous paintings, reworked in a sculptural key.

The proximity to the world of toys and dolls goes back to the lines of construction of the bodies I use, which makes them resemble puppets.

The transition from painting to painted sculptural-textile, was born from the moment
I realized that for me the background has always been irrelevant in the works,
or rather it has always been the white space within which the figures were enclosed.
So I asked myself: "what happens if I detach the figures from the canvas? what if I free them?"
The silhouettes have become material, from the canvas to the duvet and the painted clothing has transformed into real glued clothes.
First of all I made a paper pattern, copying the figures from paintings made previously.
Then, placing the paper pattern on the recycled duvet, I drew the outlines with a red marker and cut out.
I sewed some parts with the backstitch, while the external areas of skin are surrounded by a thick wool thread, with intentionally clearly visible stitches.
The second part of the process instead resumes the preparation I do of the canvases (usually recycled fabrics) using water, glue and chalk.

In this case, instead of brushing the solution on the canvas, I immersed the duvet in the solution, soaking it.
Then it was the turn of the clothes, also immersed in the solution and placed on the duvet, following the poses of the bodies.

After letting the works dry for days, the red marker emerged, leaving pink halos on the figures.
Third phase: painting the outlines with black tempera.
The choice to make the figures pure black outline lines certainly comes from the engraving works, like Heads, but also from the inspiration of the artist Kara Walker.

This work takes inspiration from the painting Jumping on the bed, which in turn is inspired by Jumping Kids, created in collaboration with the Municipality of Castellero, the ARGO social cooperative and APS Lago Stella.
The artist Mike Kelly was an inspiration for the installation of the works.