Matryoshka doll, eggplant

Description

Limited edition of 100, certificate of authenticity supplied.

There is something a little mysterious about a single matryoshka doll for sale on an op shop shelf. Where are the rest? Do you think we can apply allegorical meaning to this little event and say that the doll has broken free of the constraints of its fixed roles in life?

In the original Matryoshka sets, most dolls had a tool suggesting a task they were to do or something denoting their position in the family.  Here, in this painting, the doll is turned away so we can’t even see if she has a tool. She has no role and her future journey is up to her. What’s with the eggplant?, you may ask.

The two just seemed to go well together and there is something interesting about the way the little doll’s colours reflect slightly onto the skin of the eggplant. A small impermanent imprint on the world before she sets off on her journey.