I was introduced to the work of Nicola O’Neill whilst curating the touring exhibition, “Barbarella” in 1997 as O’Neill uses dolls as her subject, creating alternative realities which comment and reflect on her own experiences.

O’Neill uses the doll as a symbol of the perfect person to populate the recreation of scenes which are familiar to her and which also strike a chord in us. She photographs the dolls in locations around Swansea and Gower where she lives and works. There is a strong undercurrent of reminiscence in this imagery, bringing a personal element to this postcard-like super reality.

As an artist O’Neill is aware of the attributed meanings and symbolism attached to the use of these archetypal icons of childhood but manipulates the subject matter and media in a way that the work contrasts benevolence and brooding, the apparent versus the ambiguous.

Jane Brumfield (nee Jane Thomas)