Dressing as a young girl was a ritual guided not solely by my own hands but by the tender care of my mother, who took joy in assembling my attire the evening before each school day. This routine reflects her cherished memories and traces back to her childhood play with a small doll named Nancy. Nancy possessed a miniature trunk filled with dresses, skirts, blouses, hats, and shoes. Each item was then carefully selected for the fantastical narratives she would enact.

 

The relationship between little girls and their dolls is intertwined with dreams and the imagination of their identity. From the enchanting escapades of Alice in Wonderland to the haunting tales penned by Andersen and the Brothers Grimm—stories whose darker undertones eluded my youthful comprehension—these were the narratives woven into the fabric of my childhood. Skipping around the edges of the garden wearing different dresses, each with colours resembling those of various princesses. Cinderella’s vibrant blue. Sleeping Beauty’s faded pink. The fabric was magical; the moment I put it on, I became someone else, transported to a strange place, as if I had fallen into the middle of a fairytale.

 

This exhibition is a testament to my personal interpretation of the little girl perpetually fleeing within the labyrinth of her dreams, her world populated by the echoes of fairy tales once whispered in her ear. It is a manifestation of the captivating illustrations that held me spellbound, beckoning me to traverse realms where reality bends, and fantastical creatures reign.

 

The doll becomes the girl, and the girl becomes the doll.