Converse Subversives

“Converse Subversives” is the working title of a series of sculptures that I began at the beginning of the Covid-19m pandemic lockdown in March 2020.

For years I have been collecting animal skulls, old broken tools and found objects with an aim to explore how societies in the past through to the present dealt with injustice, social inequalities, gender identification, ageism, famine, plague and political upheavals. I continue to use traditional myths, fairy tales, folklore and personal stories as instruments to create my sculptural work. By looking at items and even life, up side down we can see our reality in a whole new perspective.

Converse, verb: engage in conversation.

Converse adjective: having characteristics which are the reverse or the opposite of something else.

Subversive, verb: undermine the power and authority of (an established system or institution).

The ‘doll’ is a common denominator in the series as it can evoke so many and varied memories and emotions. Boys were discouraged from playing with them, children who have been sexually abused will sleep with or even create larger ones to comfort and protect during the nighttime. Dolls are a universal symbol of a toy but they are also used in religious ritual, shamanic healing arts and even dark magic. The word ‘doll’ can be a positive or negative descriptive term.