My final body of work for degree show focused in on the idea of making politics easier to engage with for young people. It's an area I feel particularly passionate about but one that is often, as with a lot of issues relating to politics, dealt with in a serious way. I wanted to bring humour into it, to make it more approachable and so were born my two soft and squishy politicians: Jeremy Corbyn and Nicola Sturgeon.
Like a crossover of a soft toy with Spitting Image and a little bit of Dadaism, the dolls and the fabrics they were created with were based off of the way the two politicians public perceptions; a soft, grandad, gardening Corbyn and a bolder, power-suit wearing, consistant Sturgeon.
They were constructed using a variety of knitted fabrics (created on both domestic and dubied knitting machines) and stitched together using an overlocker. The garments both dolls wear are fashioned and constructed to fit the shape of the dolls and are removable. The digital print elements were incorporated to give a likeness of the politicians that was recognisable to the viewer.
The dolls were ultimately used as a key part in the game-based workshop program I also created as part of my final collection, which got young people to engage and think more about politics. To find out more about the content of the workshop and how it was designed, check out my other projects!