Reflection by Jen, 21, youth correspondent
I am always amazed, and admittedly, a little jealous of artists who can take simple, everyday objects and turn them into things of beauty and inspiration. With her "Doll face" series of photographs, Darlene Shiels accomplishes this feat and stirs the mind into a frenzy of thoughts and ideas. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and thus, with photography and all forms of art and beauty, each person may interpret these works differently. It is, of course, not my goal, then, to tell someone what these photographs mean or what they represent; I only hope to share my impressions and perhaps to help some other people look at things in a different light.
On that note, my initial reaction to these photographs was a sense of being detached from reality. The dolls smile out blindly at the camera, frozen in time with an expression of quiet amusement on their faces. I find the photographs somehow surreal and the contrast of the bright white background allows the figures to stand out well. To me, these dolls represent an unrealistic ideal that our society presents to woman of all ages -- blond hair, blue eyes and a perfect smile. For many years, there have been protests that Barbies and other toys present an unhealthy ideal to young woman and lead to issues of self esteem and body image. In reality, women as well as men come in a variety of beautiful shapes, sizes and colours and no one has the right to say what is best or preferred or most beautiful.
The third picture of the group shows a doll facing the camera, face molded into a perfect smile and typical blond hair, slightly messed up. I look at this picture and almost see sadness in her plastic, painted-on eyes. This reminds me that looks can truly be deceiving and that, though someone may look beautiful and “perfect” inside, they can still feel pain and suffering. Her hair, covering one side of her face, leaves me wondering what she is hiding and what gives her the strength to continue smiling. Of course, I realize these dolls are inanimate…and logic teaches that they have no thoughts or feelings, but it does not take a huge stretch of the imagination to see how these images could be transposed into real life situations.
