Image: Artist Robert Ridley-Shackleton and the former Culture Representative of the Mexican Embassy stand to my left and right as I wear the rag doll prompt costume, positioned in the middle. This image was taken during the second edition of Camaradas: UK & Mexico Art Competition, presented by the Embassy of Mexico in the United Kingdom. The initiative pairs one British artist and one Mexican UK-based artist (under 35) to form a creative partnership and explore shared perspectives.
Photographs showing outfits from The Ballroom Emporium in Oxford City, a place where students commonly rent formal wear for university balls and ceremonial occasions. The final image captures the moment I remove the head of the rag doll costume, revealing a visibly tired expression.
The Mexican Dolly
Oxford, United Kingdom 2011-2012
Photos by Niko Bryan.
The Mexican Dolly Project began with a head-to-toe recreation of a rag doll made by Indigenous communities in Mexico. Soon after I moved from Mexico to Oxford to study art, I dressed as one of these dolls and walked through the city.
At that time, I felt overwhelmed by the number of people asking me where I was from. Wearing the costume felt like putting on a second skin, something that covered and protected my whole body. As a doll, I became unreadable, and in some ways invisible. No one speaks with a rag doll. This act gave me space, a pause from explanation.
Later, the project evolved into a participatory storytelling and animation-based work. I invite people to complete the sentence: “Once upon a time there was a Mexican Doll who…” There is also a zine that brings together some of these responses. The stories bring the doll into motion, each one a small act of imagination.
The project explores how imaginative play and performance can open up spaces of co-existence, especially for those navigating life across different cultural and geopolitical contexts. Everyone brings their own perspective to the doll, and while I no longer actively work with the project, it remains open to reactivation through new encounters and interpretations.
You can watch the animation here:
Share: