The Doll (Maquette for The Doll's Games) 1938

Hans Bellmer’s ‘The Doll (Maquette for The Doll's Games)’ is a strange, surreal object, a puppet or mannequin suspended against a faded sky. I imagine Bellmer in his studio, wrestling with form, piecing together this figure, not quite human, not quite machine. There’s something unsettling, but also deeply compelling about the way the body is abstracted and reconfigured. It reminds me a little bit of Dada artists and their interest in nonsense. The smooth, pale surface of the doll contrasts with the roughness of the branch it’s hanging from. The figure appears to be in motion, caught in a dance or a struggle. I see echoes of other artists who grappled with the human form, like Duchamp, or Louise Bourgeois. Artists, always in conversation, pushing boundaries, exploring the depths of what it means to be human—or not. This work feels like an invitation to embrace uncertainty and ambiguity, to find meaning in the unexpected.