White on Black Silhouettes

Drowning, Chaz Howkins, 2015, snow spray on paper

Figures, Chaz Howkins, 2015, snow spray on paper

I feel these pieces are not as strong as the black on white silhouettes but were a useful experiment.

Face Casting Workshop Outcome

Painted Face Cast, Chaz Howkins, 2015, painted plaster

I decided to spray paint my face cast black as I felt it appeared too clean and pure; I wanted it to resemble my spray painted Barbies and appear sinister and lifeless.

Red Barbies

Red Barbie, Chaz Howkins, 2015, manipulated Barbie doll

Untitled, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

I wanted to experiment with spray painting the dolls in other colours, I chose red so that they appeared bold and eye catching.

Spray Paint collage

Silhouette Collage, Chaz Howkins, 2015, spray paint and mixed media on board

I experimented further with creating silhouettes and expanded on this by using a patterned and textured backgrounds, which I feel gives the piece a greater sense of depth, especially with the use of the bloody handprints behind the already eerie figures.

Spray Paint Silhouettes

Spray Silhouette, Chaz Howkins, 2015, spray paint

Spray Side Silhouette, Chaz Howkins, 2015, spray paint

While spray painting my black Barbie series, I placed the dolls on white pieces of paper so that I could document the process and create these silhouette-like pieces.  I think the simplicity of these images makes them appear sinister as they suggest the presence of a doll, or an elongated lifelike creature, without fully revealing it - an illusion of suspense.

Macro Photography

Eyeless Black, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph 

Smile, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph 

Side Black, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

I used macro photography to capture the doll's faces as this created some very demonic imagery and drew attention to their large but now empty eyes.

Black Barbie Photography

Eyeless, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

Curves, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

Dark Model, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

Spray Painted Barbies

Black Barbies, Chaz Howkins, 2015, spray painted Barbie dolls

I spray painted three dolls completely matt black as I wanted to erase their facial features to make them appear sinister as the viewer is left lost and longing for explanation.  I found that darkening the dolls highlighted their disproportionate body shapes as, when displayed against a white background, their waistline is extremely exaggerated, drawing attention to how frail and unhealthy these body images are.