art doll

Art dolls, unlike modern toy dolls, are not mass-produced but rather hand-crafted. Historical dolls, such as kachina dolls and worry dolls, are forms of traditional folk art. In the 20th century, artists such as Hans Bellmer and Louise Bourgeois used dolls as a medium for artistic expression and to promote messages. Bellmer created sexually explicit ball-jointed dolls inspired by wooden dolls from the sixteenth century. Modern art dolls are popular among art collectors.

2008's Melbourne Fringe Festival featured the work of Rachel Hughes and curator Sayraphim Lothian, amongst others. The elaborate ball-jointed ceramic dolls of Marina Bychkova fetch prices from $5,000 to $45,000, and are collected by the likes of Louis Vuitton designers. In 2010, Facebook banned images of an art doll by Bychkova posted by Sydney jeweller Victoria Buckley; included were images of a semi-naked doll used to display jewellery in her shop window. Eco-designer Ryan Jude Novelline created a commemorative art doll from a vintage Barbie recognizing marriage equality in the United States in June 2015.