Lineart

Zombie Barbie - Colouring Book, Chaz Howkins, 2017, fine liner on paper

A lineart drawing created to be published in a colouring book by the Curtin Illustration Club.  A challenging drawing to create as I am usually inclined to shade and add tone or colour.

Barbie Ascot Hat

Credit: The Daily Mail Online

I attended Ladies Day at Ascot and decided to create my own hat for the occasion.  The creation featured three of my zombified Barbies from my 'corruption of childhood innocence' project alongside seven headless, unclothed Barbie dolls attached to a plain black base with red ribbon.  The zombified Barbies wore smaller toy horses in their hair to act as fascinators, to go with the theme of Ascot.

Barbies are often viewed as an unrealistic ideal of the socially constructed standards of beauty for women.  Women at Ladies Day are expected to present themselves very properly to meet these standards of beauty.  My intention of wearing this hat at Ladies Day was to subvert the expectations of women's beauty.  The dolls represent a sense of corrupted childhood innocence as children grow up with these dolls and these ideas of what beauty is and as they grow older they realise how impossible these standards are to meet.  The bloodied dolls represent the lengths some women will go to to make themselves beautiful.

There are strict rules for clothing at Ladies Day and unfortunately my hat did not meet their criteria due to it 'promoting a brand', being 'gimmicky' and 'inappropriate' due to the nude and disfigured dolls.  This meant I was not allowed to wear the hat inside the gates of the event, which was very disappointing.  However several photographs approached me outside the gates and asked for photos of the hat, meaning it was features in several online news articles.

The Daily Mail

The Sun

Online Nigeria

The World Times

Iltalehti (Finnish)

Photograms

The Dress, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photogram

Zombiegram, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photogram

I cancelled my photography workshop and instead had an induction to the darkroom so that I could create a series of photograms.  I felt that the use of black and white in extreme contrast would emphasise the sinister feel of the dark subject matter.  I think these two images in particular are quite striking due to their simplistic nature and composition.

Manipulated Barbie Dolls For Sale

Red Barbie For Sale, Chaz Howkins, 2015,
 spray painted Barbie in doll's packaging

Black Barbie For Sale, Chaz Howkins, 2015,
 spray painted Barbie in doll's packaging

Zombie Barbie For Sale, Chaz Howkins, 2015, manipulated Barbie in doll's packaging

I decided to place some of my modified Barbies inside a doll's original packaging to make it seem as if they are being sold to children in this state.  They are all quite sinister and inappropriate for children making them stand out in the packaging.  The zombie dolls could realistically be sold as toys for older children, however the doll juxtaposes the labels of the packaging which brands it a 'fashion doll' in its tattered clothing.

Larger Zombie Barbies

Zombie Barbie Head, Chaz Howkins, 2015, manipulated Barbie doll bust

Zombie Barbie Bust, Chaz Howkins, 2015, manipulated Barbie doll

I decided to revisit my creating of zombie Barbies, however this time I used larger doll busts so I could pay full attention to the facial features.  The harder plastic was more difficult to melt and manipulate, however the larger surface area meant I could incorporate more detail.  The size of the heads makes them seem more lifelike, creating a greater sense of unease for the viewer.

Postcard Series

Demon Card, Chaz Howkins, 2015, paint on party invitation

Bloody Eye Card, Chaz Howkins, 2015, paint on party invitation

Blood Card, Chaz Howkins, 2015, paint on party invitation

I created this series of images from birthday party invitations, manipulating the face so that it would appear more sinister or demonic.  I chose to paint on these cards as it meant I could quickly create a series of images without having to paint the original Barbie itself every time.  I think the glasses being able to be lifted and reveal the demon eyes underneath is quite successful as it makes the piece more interactive.

Bloody Barbie painting

Bloody Barbie, Chaz Howkins, 2015, acrylic & mixed media on board

This painting aims to discomfort the viewer by subverting the norms of what is expected of a children’s toy and corrupting the innocence of it.  The doll appears to cry out to the viewer through lifeless, vacant eyes as if pleading to be relieved of the torture it has been put through.  The piece also subverts the norms of society’s constructs of beauty, as the doll can be used to represent society’s expectations of female beauty, which is then destroyed by the use of blood and gore.  I feel particularly connected to this piece after having smeared my own blood on it to give it a real sense of grotesque.

I'm looking forward to having this piece exhibited in the Face-off exhibition after Easter.

Print workshop

Zombie Barbie Etching, Chaz Howkins, 2014, etching

Red Zombie Barbie, Chaz Howkins, 2014, etching

Coloured Zombie Barbie, Chaz Howkins, 2014, etching, fine liner and watercolour

I think the gritty texture created by the etching really compliments the dark subject matter, making this medium very appropriate for my work.  I enjoyed this process and though it was quite time consuming, I think I will be using this process again as it creates very dramatic outcomes.

Print workshop

Plate after being drawn on

Plate after being submerged in acid

Finished plate after being inked

Plaster workshop

Wax Skellington, Chaz Howkins, 2015, wax

Our brief was to create a wax cast of a piece of fruit; I first considered casting various fruits such as bananas and a lemon to put together to create a figure or doll but thought this may be a little over ambitious.  Instead I carved a Jack Skellington face into an apple to make it appear like a smaller scale pumpkin carving and created a wax cast of it.  I feel the end result was quite successful as the texture of the wax makes the face seem aged and somewhat eerie.

Painting workshop

Model, Chaz Howkins, 2015, acrylic & pencil on canvas

In an earlier photographic series, I captured my zombified Barbies against plain white backgrounds with bright lighting, to make them appear as if they were posing as models.  These images were quite striking as it made the dolls appear more human despite their blatant mutations.  I chose to base my painting off one of these images as I felt the strong composition would translate well into paint.  I feel the use of rich colours and violent brush strokes adds to the sense of grotesque while making the doll appear fairly lifelike.

Progression of Barbie painting

Fired clay pieces

Blind Self Portrait, Chaz Howkins, 2014, clay

Ceramic Zombie Doll Head, Chaz Howkins, 2014, clay

Ceramic zombie doll head

Before 'zombifiying'

After 'zombifying'

 I first created a doll's head out of clay and then mutilated it to make it appear zombie-like.