The Cabinet of Curiosities: An Exhibition About Dolls

With the rapid growth of artistic societies and the worldwide recognition of artists, many art galleries are able to house brilliant work from different timelines. Some curate futuristic exhibitions, including new media arts and even incorporating scientific elements throughout the exhibition. Other galleries curate exhibitions that date back to the medieval times, to reminiscence the past where the perception of art was different from our current society. The Cabinet of Curiosities III: An Exhibition About Dolls, is an exhibition that fits right into the latter. This is a large project-based exhibition, curated by Da Shi, that takes its inspiration from the earliest museums, dating back to the Renaissance era.

The theme of the exhibition derives from the way noble elites collected items such as dolls, clothing, and taxidermied animals in their houses. Throughout the exhibition, their habit of collecting items is expressed with a “Curiosity Cabinet,” which refers to the cabinets located in the exhibition that reveal collections of books, dolls, and picture frames. The very first thing that the visitors will be able see when they enter the exhibition site are different types of dolls. The whole room is filled with eerie voodoo dolls made with linen, giant wooden dolls that a spread spooky atmosphere around the gallery, and human-faced dolls with their heads chopped off. From the appearance of some of the dolls, one can be reminded of horror movies centered around possessed dolls such as Annabelle. Following the path to the next room, visitors can experience a short encounter with wicked clowns that are stuffed inside the old Victorian-style cupboards. With the myriad of old, Renaissance-styled dolls located all around the art center, the viewers can feel both fascination and horror at the same time.

It is true that the atmosphere of the exhibition is rather creepy for most of the people. Although Halloween passed a long time ago, visitors can still visit this exhibition to get a good spook. The Cabinet of Curiosities III: An Exhibition About Dolls will be on view until March 8, 2020. The address for the gallery is 1188 Tianyaoqiao Lu, near Longhua Xi Lu.

Featured Image— “The Cabinet of Curiosities III: An Exhibition About Dolls” Courtesy of Angela Leung

by Amy Kang