On The Haunting Doll Photographs On Display At The Center On Halsted

By Carrie McGath in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 21, 2015 10:00PM

Dolls have long been a large part of human history. From toys to harbingers of magic and the spiritual realm, dolls have been created from a wide range of materials and for all manner of reasons.

A new exhibition from Hollywood-based artist Robert Constant, Homunculi, conveys exactly these themes. On view now through Oct. 2 at the Center on Halsted, analyzes dolls' connection to the human condition and experience through his aptly-executed photographs.

"'Homunculi' is a term I prefer to 'doll,'" Constant tells us. "These are not playthings. I am showing creatures created in our appearance to embody our fetishes, our fantasies and our yearnings."

While the works in this show are portraits, they go far deeper than a two-dimensional conversation between the subject and the artist. There are narratives here: some are sinister vignettes while others are racy and fetishistic. Some of them evoke an idealistic glam, and others a voyeurism and victimization. Constant told us he is always working within a narrative, and his aim is for the viewer to wonder what happened before the frame of the photo was shot, and what will happen immediately after.

A highlight of the show are two photos that work well as a pair. There is a lot happening in Jamie and Run, Jamie, Run, including the intimation of a pursuit that may be as innocent as hide and seek or as sinister as a kidnapping. Although literally inanimate, she looks wholly alive as she stands still in a terrorized wait and as she runs to the door hoping for escape in the other. Reminiscent of Dare Wright's provocative Lonely Doll children's books, these two works have this very adult noir quality as they appeal to our childhood sensibilities of keeping our dolls safe and even imagining them coming to life.

Dolls have been an integral part of Constant's life. He said, "I think that I found childhood to be quite a powerless state, so having control over anything was fantastic, and I could apply all the images and ideas that I was discovering onto the dolls and figures. I spent a lot of time inventing stories and situations and arranging the dolls in intricate staging patterns."

There is an intimacy between the viewer and the subject to actively engage these narratives, and the aim is to make its audience feel a strong desire to look, to be uninvolved and yet helplessly engrossed in the action.

A gothic, mid-century Hollywood impression plays out in his work, too.

"I wanted every shot to have a paparazzi sense of immediacy to make it strong and alive to the viewer," he said.

Lexi, an Audry Hepburn meets Edith Bouvier Beale figure, carries this feel just as Bella and a few others do. In Lexi, the crispness alludes to a bright flashbulb on a set for a cover shoot while the over-saturated look of Bella lends to this faraway feeling. There is an implication that it was taken by a faraway paparazzi, or even more sinister, a stalker.

A stop by the show is a great way to usher in the fall art season in Chicago. And while you're there, be sure to also check out the intimate and affecting portraits by Esvan Rivera while visiting the Center on Halsted.

Through Oct. 2, Center on Halsted, 2nd and 3rd floors, 3656 N. Halsted St.