Kimberly Camp – Cross River: A Parallel Universe, on view at the Hunterdon Art Museum through Jan. 12, showcases an entire village of her intricately made dolls. Curated by Judith K. Brodsky and Ferris Olin, the exhibition represents 40 years of telling stories in beads, earthenware, stone, textile, faux fur, and metal.
Camp’s dolls come into being improvisationally. She starts by making the head and body parts out of clay. When the heads are lined up on her shelf, they speak to Camp, telling her what they want to be. “I never really know what the doll will become until it is finished,” she says.
Once she’s received instruction from the doll, the Camden native constructs armatures and goes through her extensive fabric collection sourced from worldly travels. “Abioudun” wears traditional Malian mud cloth pants. His hat and dashiki are made of Nigerian Asa oke cloth. Olatunji wears a traditional Yoruba outfit made from Ghanaian hand-screened cotton.
The cotton for “Baba” – named for renowned drummer Babatunde Olatunji — was purchased at Marché St. Pierre in Paris. (“Six floors and thousands of textiles from around the world,” notes the artist). The kimono for “Tanuki” is made of antique cloth with a satin obe sash, paper fan, and traditional wooden platform sandals.
The dolls are further festooned with recycled fur and skins to form the bodies, clothing, and adornments. Hand sewing adds personality and attitude to each doll. The final touch is adorning a doll with buttons, feathers, seeds, roots, horns, and beads.
There is a difference between dolls that are toys, meant to be played with, and those created by artists like Camp, points out co-curator Olin. “Artists have a long history of making dolls in the same way that they paint or sculpt,” she says, citing examples by Faith Ringgold and other artists.
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