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

Editor: This is Hans Bellmer’s *The Doll (Maquette for The Doll's Games)*, created around 1938 using mixed media, including assemblage and photography. It has such a strange, unsettling effect, this image of dismembered mannequin parts arranged to resemble a… well, I’m not quite sure what it’s supposed to resemble. How do you interpret this work? Curator: Bellmer’s work, especially this image, really challenges the accepted artistic and societal representations of the female body. We have to see it in the context of the rise of totalitarian regimes in the 1930s. Bellmer created these dolls as a form of protest against the idealised image of the Aryan woman promoted by the Nazis, as well as more broadly, the pervasive commodification of the female form by advertising and pornography. Editor: So, the disturbing nature of the doll isn’t accidental, but a deliberate political statement? Curator: Exactly. It’s also deeply rooted in surrealist aesthetics, which often explored themes of sexuality, trauma, and the subconscious. Bellmer uses the doll to dissect and reconfigure traditional notions of beauty, prompting us to question the power structures that dictate these norms. The placement of the body parts on a tree also hints at pagan rituals and ancient symbols related to fertility. Editor: It's interesting to consider the piece as a social commentary. So instead of simply creating something shocking, he's actively trying to disrupt societal expectations and, to a certain extent, rebel against dominant political ideologies. Curator: Precisely. Bellmer's deliberate defamiliarization forces the viewer to actively engage with these charged socio-political questions. What do you make of the title referring to ‘games’? Editor: It makes me consider how playful but also dangerous, those kinds of games can be! Thanks, it's so useful to think about art in the broader social context! Curator: Indeed, context is key, and there are many levels to this work!