The Doll (Maquette for The Doll's Games) 1938

Hans Bellmer created this photograph called ‘The Doll (Maquette for The Doll's Games)’ with a doll of his own creation, sometime in the early to mid twentieth century. You know, looking at this image, it feels like Bellmer was really thinking about how bodies can be these strange, bendy things. There's something unsettling but also weirdly beautiful about the doll's pose, almost like it's dancing with the surrounding foliage. The muted colors and shadowy lighting add to the surreal vibe, like it is a strange dream. I can almost smell the damp earth of the forest floor. The way the doll's limbs are arranged feels intentional, carefully constructed, yet strangely organic. Bellmer's work reminds me of Louise Bourgeois, especially her sculptures that explore the body and its anxieties. Both artists play with the idea of the body as something fragmented, vulnerable, and always in flux. Ultimately, Bellmer invites us to see the world in a new light, where the familiar becomes strange and the strange becomes familiar.