Art doll concepts and developments: Joining the dots between Bruce Lee and crabs

"A man who is empty on the inside must decorate himself on the outside." -  Bruce Lee.

I came across this quotation today and it resonated, because it connects directly with my ongoing exploration of authenticity, artifice, and the commodification of self: specifically through my art doll project. I was thinking about how in an age of hyper-aestheticised (it's definitely a word) identity, it feels increasingly radical to seek depth instead of decoration. Although the more I think about that idea, the more I realise that the conversation around this is not at all binary. And that it's possible to lose informational richness with a polarising and or shameful narrative. So maybe it’s more about learning to sit still with what’s inside of us, with a gentleness about how hard a process that can be sometimes.

I also just came across a scientific article that talks about carcinization: a phenomenon that describes how crab-like body shapes have evolved independently, at least five times, among decapod crustaceans, due to the significant survival advantages it provides. In a subversive stitch project that utilises reclaimed military medical equipment in an attempt to explore the tension between vulnerability and protection, crab claws in the place of hands would be a neat fit. Because claws are both tools and weapons.

I will do some sketches.

I really love this stage of a project, when everything feels possible and cross-pollinated. Ideas spill into each other, connections appear where you least expect them, and I feel a charge of energy that oscillates between sense and nonsense. I’ve learnt that even though most of these flashes of inspiration don’t become finished works, they are necessary steps in my creative process.