Sophie Semenza
This collection connects the world of puppets to the history of women and is intended to breathe life into the women of the past. Each puppet represents a specific decade meant to showcase what was ideal in terms of body type, facial appearance, fashion sense, makeup, and more. When displayed together the puppets work as a visual timeline depicting the ways women have been expected to change to remain desirable. My way of making puppets involves the repurposing of found objects, a technique that can be referred to as “bricolage”. An example of this would be doilies used as clothing or a wad of masking tape as a beach ball. I find this process to be an engaging form of problem-solving. It also adds to the unspoken history of the pieces. A collection of lace handkerchiefs purchased from a yard sale could have been owned by any person, or any woman. The mystery of that object works to deepen and expand the stories being told.