Making figures in ‘one’s own nature’ is a universal compulsion found across cultures and times. It’s a bizarre obsession that speaks volumes about man’s inquisitive nature. What are we trying to achieve or fathom from figures that carry human-like qualities? Is it perhaps an attempt at making sense of who we are, where we come from and where we’re going, an existential preoccupation?
Artists and doll makers Glen Calleja and Lori Sauer are fascinated by this compulsion and a casual chat between them led to their collaboration on an exhibition of contemporary art dolls entitled Sura, currently running at Spazju Kreattiv. The handcrafted dolls on display are, however, not your ordinary pretty toys or display objects and are given a voice through stories written by Clare Azzopardi.
“Sura is about coming into being… not just into human or physical form. There are, in fact, more shadows in our exhibition than there are physical beings (through the strategic placing of light),” exhibition designer and curator, Elyse Tonna says.
She explains that the name Sura employs nuanced interpretations. A term defined in the Maltese language, its verb ‘sawwar’ associates itself to the making process, while ‘fis-sura tal-bniedem’ brings in connotations related to creating objects in the likeness of humankind.
“The making of dolls in the likeness of is an essential human trait, present and transmitted through cultures and across time,” Tonna remarks.
The collaborative project, in fact, looks at dolls as coveted objects that are universally present across continents, cultures and times.
“Some dolls offer solace, comfort and companionship, others are vessels of curses or blessings, or culture-specific toys, or gendered symbols of power and authority, or effigies for remembrance, renewal and so on,” the curator notes.
As part of the research process, the creative team studied the various associations related to dolls: dolls as universal figures passed on from one generation to the next; dolls as anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures that can be handled and carried around, anything from African fetish cult figurines, spirit dolls, Victorian mourning dolls, native American faceless dolls to wishbone dolls and many other various doll typologies.
They take on various connotations
“Some research was also carried out related to dolls in Malta, which, although scarce, provided some insight related to rag dolls handed down from one family to the next,” Tonna points out.
The dolls by Calleja and Sauer share some similarities in that they are generally faceless dolls and have a torso. But other than that, they possess significant differences, starting off with the materials they are created with − Calleja’s are rag dolls, while Sauer created sculptural figures. The attention to detail is, however, indisputable in both.
“Besides, their associated meanings vary from one maker to another and they take on various connotations,” Tonna adds.
Author Azzopardi wrote a collection of stories inspired by these dolls, which were translated by Albert Gatt for the exhibition. Matyou Galea created the soundscape. Azzopardi transposes the dolls into a new trajectory, a parallel but independent universe to that created at Spazju Kreattiv.
“In both the exhibition and the book, Clare and myself, both separately and collectively, became new guardians to the collection of dolls. Both of us have taken in the process of doll-making from the very beginning of the project and the dolls have become well familiar. Both the exhibition and the book offer similar but also distinct interpretations to the characters and backgrounds of the dolls,” Tonna says.
Sura, as an exhibition, brings together aspects inherent to communities and societies: it’s a reflection of places, processes, stereotypes, the familiar, the unknown, the popular and the marginalised.
“Each intricate detail in its design and the dolls’ position in space challenge various representations of issues which are akin to everyday life. This is complemented through its design, grouping, framing and forms: every little detail correlates to the underlying issues and perceptions, a symbol of contemporary life.”
As an example, some of the dolls come in company, while others stand in solitude.
“Like people, some prefer to be alone while others prefer company. Some distinguish themselves and lead the pack while others fall out of favour with their community and are ostracised. This whole project speaks of belonging, of kin, of parentage,” Tonna continues.
The exhibition can be defined as a structured exercise in a continuing collaboration primarily between Calleja and Sauer. The process of making dolls is, in fact, not over yet and Sura acts as an invitation for the public to witness part of the dialogue between all the creatives involved in the exhibition.
“In this sense, Spazju Kreattiv is a little laboratory where we can observe how people from the public interact with the dolls and how the dolls behave in that space and its conditions. Sura is a developing artistic collaboration that speaks of belonging, blood relations, spiritual parents and guardians, of who is accepted and who is ostracised in one’s tribe, territory and life. As their homes and guardians change, they are nuanced with new relations and significance,” Tonna concludes.
The exhibition runs at Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta until Sunday. Clare Azzopardi’s collection of stories will be published shortly after the exhibition ends. Sura is supported by Arts Council Malta and Spazju Kreattiv.
