Toys

The Curious Case of the Bathtub Barbies
(c) Francine Russelle, 2008
8" x 15" x 4", mixed media in cigar box

My granddaughters inspired this piece, although they've yet to see it. I'm certain they'll be furious, then they'll laugh. It is pretty sick.

When they were small I noticed that each time they received a new doll, the first thing they did was take the clothes off. Over the years I've learned that nearly all little girls do this, hence boxes and boxes of naked Barbies. What did I know? I'm the mother of sons.

I'd been collecting discarded dolls for a while and La Luz contributed some of her daughter's discarded dolls as well. But it wasn't until I saw an ad for a high-end faucet featuring Barbie dolls in a soap filled kitchen sink that it came together in my head. As I began to construct the piece I realized I had extra doll parts, which I put to use. The piece began to take on a macabre life of its own when I added a leftover skeleton (Anorexic Ken), a bottle of poison, soap, bubbles, marbles and some "attitude".