By Elena Bormotova: An exhibition of handmade dolls opened today at the State Museum of the History of Theatrical and Musical Culture of the Republic of Belarus. The dolls were created by Valeria Gaishun. The exhibition transfers the viewer to the era of the Soviet Union. And, all the characters create their own atmosphere - all of them are Jewish people, and everyone has a name.
Valeria Gaishun is an economist, and by artistic standards, her creative career began quite recently. Wool is her material of choice, and the technique is quite easy - dry felting, or filtznadel. Everything she needs is some wool and a needle. The dress that the dolls are wearing is handmade, too. As are shoes - the artists even had to place a special order for the shoes to be made. Fashionable shoes, as it turns out, can be made for dolls, too.
Each mini-composition has its history that was invented by the artist. For example, Basia Shlomovna has been waiting for a call from Mendel fro three years now. Unfortunately, Mendel still cannot find a two-copeck coin to give her a call. Almost every character has a real prototype - the people who surrounded the artist since childhood, the residents of Bobruisk. Through her dolls, the master transmits the national traditions and the famous Jewish humor, which is quite popular around the world.
Each doll has a great many details in its look, a lot of small objects of the Soviet period. The artist usually buys these things in antique shops and flea markets. There are magazines in mini-formats and various interior items. First, the artist creates an image, and then the image dictates the details - the doll’s name, its profession, and even the character. These dolls seem to represent the characters of Soviet jokes - you have Sonya who is tired, and Boruch who sells common Jewish happiness, and the intellectuals Arkadiy and Aaron Perelman.
These dolls travel a lot. Many of them have recently traveled to the exhibition halls of Moscow and St. Petersburg. And before that, they were displayed in Minsk at different venues. A couple of these Jewish dolls became emigrants for real - they moved to Russia, France, or Israel to stay there. By the way, each of them has its own passport. Valeria Gaishun creates documents for every single doll of hers.












