Cut-out, dress up & play
In 2022 as part of my degree at The Colchester School of Art I was invited to create and install a sculpture within Colchester Institute.
One of the themes of my work is identity, I created this interactive work to engage the audience in thinking about identity and gender. It was inspired by paper cut-out books I played with as a child, but rather than just have cut-out clothes I extended this to include cut-out body parts that could be attached to the dolls to change their identity or gender.
![cut out paper dolls to explore identity and gender](https://chrissierichards.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/IMG_0749-768x1024.jpg)
The work was installed in the Childcare and Early Years unit at Colchester Institute. I chose this location as I thought it would promote conversation around gender and identity amongst the students learning about childcare.
![early years unit at UCC](https://chrissierichards.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/IMG_0668-1024x768.jpg)
![cut out paper dolls to explore identity and gender](https://chrissierichards.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/FullSizeRender-945x1024.jpg)
I also included different costumes that could be played with as well. I think this was an interesting way to begin a conversation about a very important and serious topic. Rather than tell the audience what I think, I wanted them to explore the topic for themselves.
![cut out paper dolls to explore identity and gender](https://chrissierichards.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/IMG_0723-1024x741.jpg)