Doll Series

In 2016, China has abolished the one child policy after 40 years, allowing families to have two children. The uniquely Chinese “Three-Member Family” nuclear family structure begins the process of becoming the past. Although the one child policy will one day become a distant memory, it has undoubtedly deeply impacted Chinese contemporary culture as well as the perception and inheritance of traditional Chinese culture. The concrete long term effects on entire generations of Chinese people are almost impossible to measure, but the significance of these consequences cannot be ignored.

To engage in a conversation about this recent change in policy, Zhu Wei takes the “Three-Member Family” series out of its reality and uses dolls to reconstruct the sense of permanence. Dolls and toys become the characters and backgrounds in these pieces to create worlds of pure fantasy and fiction. This is a way for the “Three-Member Families” in the “Doll Series” to cross through into the fantasy world and continue to “live” their perfectly blissful and completely untainted “lives”.

The “Three-Member Family – Doll Series” symbolizes Chinese people’s helplessness, and overall involuntary external locus of control regarding the one child policy. Having no voice nor choice in this matter, Chinese people must accept the fact that the government’s strategic decisions and rules are automatically part of history. The “Doll Series” reflects upon the cruelty of special policies during special times in a country’s history, as well as the powerlessness and vulnerability of individuals who do not have the option of avoidance or escape.