Fielding Season explores our presentations of ourselves in online dating. Despite our depths, the online dating world distills us into a formulaic series of photos and prompts in order to attract attention. In Fielding Season, I consider how we present ourselves online to attract other people. This work is about what individuals want to show to the world when they are looking for whatever desire has brought them online—curiosity, companionship, a loving relationship, a friend with benefits, a booty call. How we present ourselves and how others interpret those presentations reveals much about our desires, biases, and expectations.
The subjects of these images are 1:6 scale dolls. I use dolls to explore the archetypes and idealized representations of people we see on dating apps, as dolls are their own kind of archetype or idealization of humanity. I modify the dolls by giving them unique facial features such as dimples or cleft chins, scars and tattoos. I change their bodies by putting new parts together or adding volume to specific body parts such as breasts, bellies, or butts, or give them new skin tones. I reroot their hair to give new texture, volume, colour, or length. These dolls go beyond Barbie as they are not only one of a kind, but they are representations of real people from dating apps.
I create and mount the sets, and I have made some of the clothing, furniture, and props. Each image is the product of between 50 and 100 hours of labour, depending on the doll and setting.
