Uncanny Valley of the dolls

January 21, 2016 2:30 PM

Russian artist makes eerily realistic dolls.

Michael Zajkov is a sculptor who works with polymer clay to create highly detailed, realistic dolls wearing vintage clothes made by designer Irina Kuzemina.

Short biography in English.

Russian language interview with photos from an exhibition in Moscow. (Google translation)

posted by sively (21 comments total)

Yep, these are right at the intersection of gorgeous and terrifying.
posted by kinnakeet at 2:41 PM on January 21, 2016 [2 favorites]

Please make one that smiles.
posted by charlesminus at 2:45 PM on January 21, 2016 [1 favorite]

Wow, those are amazing. Their little faces are so sad too, which only makes them more eerie. In the Vine where he's painting the one girl's bald head, she's got this expression like, "Ah, yes, such is my lot in life, to be a bald head held in the hand of some Russian dude."

If you like this stuff, check out Hot Toys. They make action figures (or whatever you call great big dolls) of movie characters, and some of them are so realistic it's creepy as hell. This Gary Oldman is a toy.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 2:46 PM on January 21, 2016 [2 favorites]

Please make one that smiles.

Try Marina Bychkova or Angel Egg.
posted by sukeban at 2:53 PM on January 21, 2016 [1 favorite]

I appreciate the title of this post.

+1
posted by blurker at 3:37 PM on January 21, 2016 [4 favorites]

I HATE that Instagram doesn't let you zoom pictures. Really? For a site that is supposed to be about photography?

Anyway. I think these look nice. Wish I could get a closer look.
posted by monospace at 4:00 PM on January 21, 2016 [1 favorite]

The thing about the Hot Toys dolls is that they're uncanny not necessarily in that they seem alive, but that they're really close but not quite right for a lot of the actors; they seem just a skosh too... beefy, I guess? A little too squared-away?

Also, Jeremy Renner as the lead in Cake Pops: The Motion Picture.
posted by Halloween Jack at 4:00 PM on January 21, 2016

I saw a Hot Toys reference in a post here yesterday and clicked on the link and I agree, amazing likenesses except for Jeremy Renner for some reason. The Loki figure seems to be the most popular and coincidentally the most expensive.

re the Russian guy, every so often in the Instagram scroll, there is an extreme closeup and I'd think, oh, here is the model he based the doll on but no, it's the doll.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:33 PM on January 21, 2016

Am I allowed to be awed by his skill whilst simultaneously troubled by how anatomically complete he makes all the parts which no one sees?
posted by Soulfather at 5:50 PM on January 21, 2016

@Soulfather "the parts which no one sees"
posted by rmmcclay at 5:55 PM on January 21, 2016 [1 favorite]

Eek!
posted by Soulfather at 6:22 PM on January 21, 2016

Yeah well I can color inside the lines most of the time so you'd say I'm nearly as talented.

But seriously this is amazing and beautiful. I like can't look away.
posted by Crystalinne at 6:24 PM on January 21, 2016

Dude has a type.
posted by mon-ma-tron at 8:38 PM on January 21, 2016 [2 favorites]

As someone who really doesn't like clowns, masks or dolls, I sincerely hope he doesn't start making smiling ones.
posted by speakeasy at 10:04 PM on January 21, 2016

troubled by how anatomically complete he makes all the parts which no one sees?

Sculpting more or less detailed genitalia and painting pink the parts of the body that look pinker in real life like elbows, knees or nipples (what we call "blushing") is the usual thing in the art dolls and resin ball jointed dolls world.
posted by sukeban at 11:06 PM on January 21, 2016 [2 favorites]

Yeah, you could say it's creepy for him to sculpt and paint the nipples and genitals... but I think it might be creepy if he DIDN'T, given how detailed his sculptures are otherwise. If you're making super-realistic art like that, it would seem really squeamish and peculiar to leave them with little Barbie doll not-there naughty parts. It would have that Marilyn Manson Dope Show look, and that was clearly not what he was going for.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 11:41 PM on January 21, 2016

As someone who really doesn't like clowns, masks or dolls, I sincerely hope he doesn't start making smiling ones.

If you are worried about clowns and dolls I have found highly trained mercenaries who will scoop them up and bop them on the head, for a small fee.
posted by sebastienbailard at 12:00 AM on January 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

art dolls and resin ball jointed dolls world

this is...a place?
posted by gottabefunky at 8:16 AM on January 22, 2016

Indeed it is. Den of Angels is the big site for resin ball-jointed dolls with an Asian influence. Zajkov's are more European-style, but those are pretty popular right now, as well. Russia has a particularly productive doll scene. Check out the Popovy Sisters if you want to see some dolls that are really uncanny.
posted by Nibbly Fang at 8:30 AM on January 22, 2016 [2 favorites]

Art dolls kind of start with Hans Bellmer (previously) and have some fame in Japan (previously too). Artists like Ryoichi Yoshida have been making dolls from scratch since the 70s. A bit over 10 years ago a Japanese company that used to make resin garage kits, Volks, started making resin ball-jointed dolls that can be customised, and from then the hobby took off. There are several kinds of appeal: some people are into collecting finished (painted, dressed, etc) limited edition dolls, others are into the customization part (carving the resin, choosing wig, eyes, painting the dolls, sewing the clothes or buying them readymade), and yet others are into playing with the dolls, taking pictures and making up stories about them.

The two links I gave earlier are Russian doll artists that are more influenced by the bisque and porcelain doll aesthetic, however. If I had to quote some regular bjds similar to Zajkov's, I think they'd be some slim minis (1/4 scale dolls that fit an adult into around 45cm) like Bimong's Narae or Dandelion. Lumedoll also makes realistic dolls.
posted by sukeban at 11:50 AM on January 22, 2016 [2 favorites]

Any ideas what that opalescent ceramic would be?
posted by sebastienbailard at 2:13 PM on January 22, 2016