Mirka Mora’s interest in dolls and puppets, or soft sculpture, began with her theatre and mime training. As an adult she also collected antique dolls, before finally embarking on creating them herself in 1970. The characters she birthed in cloth felt, to Mora, like substitute children; at the time, her sons were living apart from her.

Indeed, despite being mere paint and cloth, these dolls feel alive. When Mora’s dolls were first exhibited in 1971, John Reed wrote:

“You are not entering an “exhibition” but rather a new world, a world of illusion… a country that may be strange but it is also beautiful and compellingly familiar. This is the artist’s country”.

Mora’s are brimming with love and life, hugged for years, vessels for the artist’s spirit and enduring legacy. In the later stages of her career, Mora held doll-making workshops for members of the public, many of whom reported the experience as life-changing.

In the simplicity and curiosity of Mora’s dolls lie the miracle of joy.

Mirka MORA (1928 - 2018)
'Mermaid'
Hand-painted soft sculpture
Image Size: 19 x 56 cm
Dimensions: 19 x 56 x 6 cm
Signed: Signed Mirka bottom fin

Condition; Good: Describes the average used work of art, where the image is in good condition. The toy remains in-tact with minimal signs of wear, reflective of age and material.
 
© Mirka Mora / Copyright Agency 2023