AMALGAMAE

The final chapter in the Russian Doll Trilogy, Amalgamae absorbs inspiration from her predecessors Mother Eternal and Parthena.

The series began in 2014 as a Mother's Day tribute, and has evolved into a template for documenting motivational relationships I've experienced as a working artist. While Mother Eternal gained inspiration from my mother's continued support of her three children long after childhood, Parthena and Amalgamae collage impressions made by multiple female artists and friends who have inspired my creative process. Combined, the series connects the stages of motherhood with the stages of creativity: conception, creation, and release.

The Russian dolls, originally known as Matryoshka dolls, have become a name­sake of Rus­sian nationalism dating back to the late 19th century. The name Matryoshka is derived from the common Russian name Matryona, meaning "little matron." The Matryoshka doll's origin is up for debate, but its derivative style indicates a close connection to the Japanese Kokeshi doll, which dates back to the 1600s. Similar to Russian dolls, Kokeshi dolls are characterized by their vibrantly painted features and limbless wooden bodies.

The etymology of the word Kokeshi is unknown, but there are two schools of thought regarding its meaning. Ko can be interpreted as "small" or "child," and keshi might mean "doll." This translates to "small doll," or "child doll." The other possible interpretation for keshi could be derived from the word kesu, meaning "erase." This would translate to "child" and "erase" which may link to infanticides executed with some regularity during the Edo period.

Regardless of the name's origin, Kokeshi dolls have held high esteem as symbols of good fortune and reverence for the spirit realm.

Kokeshi dolls popularity began migrating in the late 19th century and one particular set was brought to the home of Savva Mamontov, a wealthy Russian industrialist and patron of the nationalist artist colony Abramtsevo near Moscow.

It is believed Mam­ontov's wife brou­ght home a set of dolls depicting the Seven Gods of Fortune after visit­ing Japan. Sergey Malyutin, an Abra­mtsevo painter in residency, drew inspiration from one doll in particular depicting Fukurokuju, a god bearing a curiously large forehead. Within its head nested a set of dolls descending in size.

Malyutin sketched a localized version and delivered it to carpenter Vasiliy Zvezdochkin who created a set of eight dolls which could be placed one inside the other. Instead of a deity, Malyutin and Zvezdochkin's doll depicted the face and attire of a peasant woman with her offspring placed inside her, each smaller iteration within the next leading down to a small baby doll.

The dolls would go on to gain national popularity in Russia after being exhibited at the 1900 World's Fair in Paris.