Soft Power

This is an ongoing installation of sculptures playing with issues of femininity & conditioning using the doll-form. The pieces can be seen as a more "other-worldly" counterpoint to contemporary mass-media representations of the female form. 

The pieces range from 9 inches – 3 foot high, are carved in polystyrene, laminated in fibre-glass, hand-painted with acrylic & collaged with doily elements.

Other work can be seen at  ----- http://www.artslant.com/global/artists/show/77470-barbara-ash

The latest pieces - April 13, from left clockwise "Girl-power doll", "Mermaid doll", "Recumbent doll", "Siren doll", "Existential doll", "Romantic rose", "Small bird-doll".

"Recumbent doll"

"Big seated doll", "Christ doll" & "Bird-doll".

"Big seated doll"

"Bird-doll"

Work in progress image of "Siren-doll" & "Posturing doll".

"Holding up half the sky", Solo show in Bangalore. March 2013.

The show opened on March 8th, International Woman's Day. Themes involved femininity, the beauty industry and celebrity culture. An article on the show in "Time Out" can be seen at http://www.timeoutbengaluru.net/art/features/never-doll-moment

Below is a small selection of some of the works - the whole show can be seen  @ http://picasaweb.google.com/113347058932159215493/HoldingUpHalfTheSky?authuser=0&feat=directlink#slideshow/5853390045648020850

"Madonnas" Acrylic, graphite pencil, Hand-made paper, doilies. Approx 5 foot 9 wide.

"Life goes on" Mixed media – digital print, Hand-made paper, lamination, pencil. Approx 37 ins wide.

"Whiter shade of pale" Mixed media - Hand-made paper, Doilies (English paper place mats), digital images taken from the internet, watercolour, acrylic. Approx 5 feet 2 inches high

"Big doll with small bird" (unique) 2013

Fibreglass, Doilies, acrylic, emulsion paint, fabric. Approx 5 1/2 feet high.

"Girl with bird", Approx 10 inches high, Bronze.

"All that glitters". Bronze, gold leaf, chain. Approx 8 1/2 ins high.

"Prelapsarian Idyll"

This triptych looks at the way women have been viewed historically, through religious paintings and old photos found in an archive of Victorian studio-shots. 

Approx 5 1/2 ft x 31/2 feet. Materials - hand-made paper, pencil, acrylic, doily elements.

"Prelapsarian Idyll 1"

"Prelapsarian Idyll 2"

"Prelapsarian Idyll 3"

This work was in a collateral event for http://kochimuzirisbiennale.org/ in 2012-13.
This triptych looks at the way women have been viewed historically, through religious paintings and old photos found in an archive of Victorian studio-shots. 

"Drawing across" project

This was an interesting project involving artists & women from the mental health & criminal justice system. People who have never met have a series of (visual) conversations through drawings sent via email, they  communicate only visually through an intermediary. Here are 4 of my exchanges with my correspondent "Sarah". 

drawing 1

drawing 2

drawing 3

drawing 4

Info on the project can be found here :  http://drawingtogether.org.uk/

Work in progress for "Soft Power" installation. January 2012

These are 3 sculptures from a future group of 10 - 15 polystyrene diverse pieces which will be laminated in fibre-glass & painted very muted pastels..

Sculpture on the left approx 96 cms high

"Dolls"; Anglo-Indian touring show @ Sumukha Gallery, Bangalore, ArtChennai & Rob Dean Fine Art, London, curated by Marta Jakimowicz.

“Frilly doll”, January 2011

Photo from Deccan Herald & article on show - http://www.deccanherald.com/content/146321/dolls-depict-all.html.

Fibreglass, polystyrene, acrylic paint, p.v.a, paper-place mats (doilies). Size: h 110 x w 45

All that glitters III, January 2011

Fibreglass, acrylic paint, polystyrene, p.v.a. Size doll :h 71 x w 37 x d 51 cms. rose size:l 31 x w 8 x d 8 cms.

Images from the show & e-catalogue can be seen at http://www.robdeanart.com/ & http://www.sumukha.com/pastexhibition.php?id=128

Barbara Ash has been awarded the Artist’s Grant by The Arts Council of England, towards the Dolls project    

"Little girl" series, 2009

~This series of 7 drawings involves 19th century Victorian photographic studio portraits of young girls taken from an internet archive & juxtaposed with collaged doilies (redolent of domesticity & gentility) to explore evolving historical attitudes to femininity.

Acrylic, graphite pencil, watercolour, hand-made paper, doilies.

Approx 13 inches high.