Make him healthy, daddy! Print

My inspiration for this series of doll paintings was the exhibition "Black Dolls, collection Deborah Neff" at the Museum Maison Rouge in Paris in 2018, where historical black dolls, which were created between 1840 and 1940, were shown. They were often sewn by Coloured nannies for the (white) children in their care. Thus, each doll was unique. Neff’s doll collection not only contained babies, as is often the case today; the dolls varied in age, gender and disposition. There were young and old dolls; male and female dolls; some were cheerful, others sad and ugly ... The entire spectrum of American society of that era seemed to be represented in Neff’s doll collection. Moreover, many of the dolls appeared animated, alive. Maybe that's what made the show so special and inspiring. In my paintings, aimed to touch on the themes most pertinent to today’s society - refugees, immigrants, gender issues and racial equality... The current situation in America shows us how important it is to deal with racism, role stereotypes and prejudices. Since the Corona crisis started, the owners of the dolls, mostly white children initially, have become part of the paintings. Gradually, more and more Coloured children, sometimes with white dolls, have appeared. My protagonists switched roles; now the children are the nannies of the dolls.