by Tayla Mackintosh

plangonologist
[ plan-goh-noh-loh-jist ]

noun
1. A person who collects dolls; a collector of dolls.

My work has been focused on the idea around collections and why people seem to have this inherited need to horde objects that hold meaning to them, but whose appearance would not appeal to the majority of people: in particular, porcelain dolls that can either be thought of as beautiful or creepy.

I like to push elements of discomfort and take collections to the extreme. This year I looked into the idea of pediophobia which is the irrational fear of an inanimate object that resembles a human, in other words a doll. With this idea in mind I have used my art to create a collection of dolls that tread lightly on the term “resemble”. I have experimented with creating objects that take the idea of a doll and stretch and manipulate it. I have striven to create an imperfection collection, where I take the basic components of a doll and combine them in a way that challenges this fear.

My exhibition is titled Viral Plangonology, as this year I had to work with the added challenge of trying to create a complete exhibition in the midst of a worldwide pandemic. My intention is to showcase what it was like for me as an artist to create this exhibition with this added challenge which came with setbacks such as the lockdown and the lack of studio time and how this resulted in experimenting with new techniques at home.

I have embodied the role of both creator and collector and have explored the duality of mindset that comes with such a pairing, emphasizing the pristine nature of a body of work displayed in a gallery setting and the madness of an artist’s workspace.