THE BLACK DOLL PROJECT

UPLIFTING AND CELEBRATIONG BLACK WOMANHOOD.

BLACK DOLLS

CREATING DOLLS IS ONE OF THE EARLIEST FORMS OF AFRICAN ART. SINCE ANCIENT TIMES THESE DOLLS HAVE CONVEYED CULTURAL VALUES AND HAVE INDICATED A SOCIETY’S STANDARDS OF BEAUTY. THEY HAVE BEEN USED AS SPIRITUAL TOOLS FOR RITUAL PURPOSES OR ICONS FOR WORSHIP. THEY’VE ALSO BEEN USED FOR TEACHING AND AS MEDICINE. IN MODERN TIMES WE COMMONLY THINK OF DOLLS AS SIMPLE PLAY THINGS FOR LITTLE GIRLS, BUT EVEN THE MASS-PRODUCED DOLLS WE GIVE TO OUR GIRLS TODAY ARE, IN FACT, OBJECTS OF A SUBTLE, SUBCONSCIOUS, YET POWERFUL TYPE OF WORSHIP. THEY, LIKE THEIR ANCIENT PREDECESSORS, IMPART CULTURE AND SOCIETAL VALUES FROM ONE GENERATION TO THE NEXT.

THERE IS A RICH HISTORY OF HAND-MADE DOLLS IN AFRICA AND THE AFRICAN DIASPORA. WHEN MANUFACTURERS WOULD NOT MASS PRODUCE BLACK DOLLS AND POPULAR REPRESENTATION OF BLACK PEOPLE WAS UNFAILINGLY DEMEANING, WE MADE DOLLS IN OUR OWN IMAGE. WE MADE THEM OUT OF STICKS OR SCRAP FABRIC. WE IMPROVISED THEM FROM DISCARDED WALL PAPER AND CHIMNEY SOOT OR PARTS FROM MASS PRODUCED WHITE DOLLS. WE MADE THEM AT HOME, BY HAND AND FOR EACH OTHER.

THE MODERN-DAY MANIFESTATION OF THIS CULTURAL PHENOMENON IS THE TREND AMONGST BLACK WOMEN TOWARD MODIFYING MASS PRODUCED BLACK DOLLS. THE STRAIGHT HAIR OF MASS PRODUCED BLACK DOLLS IS REPLACED WITH AFROS, BRAIDS, LOCKS AND CORNROWS. CLOTHES ARE REPLACED SO THAT THE DOLLS BETTER REFLECT THE CULTURE, SELF-IMAGE AND VALUES OF THE MODIFIERS.

THE BLACK DOLL PROJECT IS BETTER UNDERSTOOD WITHIN THIS HISTORIC AND CULTURAL CONTEXT.