76 rhinestones, 1,045 metal beads, mohair wig.” Lotus (opposite) hides misshapen feet in her beaded
Our initial reaction, of course, is to wonder, “How shoes, representing the unfair social standards of beauty.
^{does she do it?}” ^{In an age of prefab everything, the Imperial Concubine (left) was created in 200 hours.} Nitocris (right) is a tribute to the first queen of Egypt.
quickest route, and simple how-to instructions, we
are unused to the concept of hundreds of hours of “Most of my research is conducted through art
labor and research to obtain the perfect realization books, fairy tales, and Google. Aesthetical appear-
of our imagination. What makes Bychkova’s work ance of dolls resembles fairy tale illustration more
unique is the level of skill she brings to each piece. than it does authentic historic costumes, and that’s
While art school opened Bychkova’s eyes to the the idea, but I certainly refer to historical fashion
possibilities of art forms and taught her to think and facts for project development.”
conceptually, she had to pursue other avenues of Bychkova is drawn to strong female figures in
knowledge to gain her skills in actually making what fable and history. Some of her dolls to date include:
she could envision. She spent a year away from The Last Night of Nitocris, the first queen of Egypt;
ECI to study porcelain pottery, and over time has Safia, The Favourite Wife; The Snow Maiden, daugh-
evolved her own methods and tricks to perfecting her ter of Father Winter in a Russian folk tale; and her
craft. What it takes, more than anything, is dedication, Snow White with prince, which takes a different look
and as she noted, when you spend that much time at the traditional tale by touching on the concept of
exploring technique, you discover your own secrets. necrophilia. So although a pursuit of the beautiful is
“My choice of materials is rather compulsive at the forefront of her interest, she has curiosities
because permanence of my dolls is of paramount about the darker side of dolls and their relation to
importance to me. As an artist I naturally want my desire, control, death, and eternity. As her inter-
creations to outlive me — that is why I am attracted ests and themes emerge, it is hard to say how her
to and use only the most stable materials I can find. work will evolve in the future, but at the age of 24,
Porcelain, for one, is as close to eternal as it gets. Bychkova knows that this is what she wants to do
It’s even used in space. Precious metals and stones, — what she was meant to do. ×
glass beads and crystals are objects that will not self-
_{destruct with age. Absolute quality is what I’m after.}” Marian Bantjes is a graphic artist and writer living and work-
ing from an island off the west coast of Canada.