Ekaterina Ziborova www.dollplanet.ru, Marina Pismenskaya www.dollyshouse.ru. 21 october 2010
Translated by Ekaterina Ziborova in 2013/14
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People have always associated Teddy bears with childrens’ toys – touching, sweet, nice and safe. Most artist bears inherited these traits, but there are Teddy bear artists who have chosen a different path. Alena Zhirenkina, a famous artist from Moscow, is among them.
Alena’s style is impressive, independent and instantly recognizable. For a long time her toys shocked collectors (in Europe and in Russia as well) because of their special aesthetic and its uniqueness, boldness, the combination of incompatible. But several years went by and Alena became one of the most successful Teddy bear artists. Her toys are in demand in European and Russian galleries. Conservative German collectors, connoisseurs of classic (and undressed) teddies, dream of her creations. Even Japanese people buy up Alena’s teddies, though they are used to strange and creepy toys and it’s really difficult to surprise them.
Arctophiles know that the art of sewing a Teddy bear is very canonical, and almost any teddist consciously or unconsciously attempts to recreate a “perfect prototype”. On the other hand, the singularity of a Teddy bear is highly valued because it’s really difficult to invent something new here. Although the bear is usually easier to make than an art doll, a teddy bear should have a number of well-defined characteristics to be considered a collectible and stand out from the crowd of ordinary "stuffed toys". And here Alena Zhirenkina with apparent ease transcends all the canons and laws. Yes, formally she sticks to the technology of sewing classic bears (hinges, sawdust and, in most cases, glass eyes). As for the rest – Alena is the only Russian teddy artist whose works are not subject to strict quality requirements that are normally applied to other collectible bears (especially classical). Her creatures are slightly asymmetrical, they can squint, their paws can dangle because hinges are purposely not tight enough, threads can stick out of decorative darning, and so on and so forth. This deliberate negligence of Alena Zhirenkina’s works creates the illusion that such toys are very easy to sew. So there are a lot of copycats who want to replicate her success - but they do not understand the main trick: the seemingly-simplest-to-make things are often the most complicated per se.
Behind Alena’s art there is not just a long-term experience of a professional artist and illustrator as well as excellent knowledge of vintage and antique toys. Most of us can only admire vintage toys in the museums and pictures, but Alena has a rare opportunity to study the specific features of old toys on the basis of the unique collection of the Toy Museum that belongs to the famous Sergei Romanov.
Unlike the artists of the past century, Alena is not limited in the choice of materials. The image of the future toy dictates the selection of fabrics and decorations - therefore, here you can find the most incredible and bizarre combinations of mohair and metal, antique plush and vintage upholstery fabrics, coat fabrics and airy organza, vintage lace and modern prints, rhinestones and rivets. The artist generously decorates the toys with enameled badges, artificial flowers from vintage French hats, shell buttons, pendants from crystal chandeliers, fabrics that are hand-painted by Alena herself. Most of these things come from European and Russian flea markets, thrift shops and antique dealers.
One of the distinctive features of Alena’s toys are wide-set eyes (sometimes looking in different directions) that are positioned low, almost at the level of the nose. For her unusual creatures Alena often orders handmade glass eyes that look very special. However, she often replaces the eyes with different-sized buttons or weird pendants, pins, clock mechanisms. These animals look at their owners with a very special expression – touching and demanding at the same time. This gives them a resemblance to famous Blythe dolls.
The noses are often embroidered with widely spaced stitches and deliberately touched up with paint, though sometimes there are plastic noses or simply two crossed stitches that form the nose and the mouth. Alena’s creations usually have flattened muzzles, elongated bodies and thin pointed paws with long claws embroidered with crossing stitches. Another brand feature of Alena’s toys - abundant thick darns made with a contrasting thread. As for the clothing, it is an integral part of most Alena’s toys’ image, though the outfits are usually removable. These dresses, jackets, trousers and blouses can be made of vintage or antique as well as modern fabrics. In any case, the clothes are always appropriate and give additional anthropomorphism to these toys. "They are actually dolls, they just pretend to be animals!" – Alena says.
Alena Zhirenkina’s works of art are incompatible with the common opinion that the teddy bears must be nice and cozy. One of the owners of these toys told us: "It seems to me that if my bear could open her mouth, there would be two rows of small, sharp teeth there, and one bite could be enough." These toys are brilliant representatives of a popular trend in the doll art of the late XX - beginning of XXI century. More and more artists are turning to the "dark side", and not for the sake of shocking at all. The creatures of Alena Zhirenkina ideally fit in modern pop culture that transmits subconscious fears and passions of adults. If her animals had to live among other Teddy bears, they would either get bored or sow discord. Uniqueness and ambiguity of Alena’s toys give them the reputation of "not very kind" creations - it's one of the reasons why her works are especially popular among young people in Russia and abroad.
Many owners of the toys by Alena Zhirenkina admit that her animals have occupied a very important place in their lives and houses, so the other members of the collection (be it bears or dolls) had to make room.
Ekaterina Ziborova www.dollplanet.ru, Marina Pismenskaya www.dollyshouse.ru
Photos by Ekaterina Ziborova (www.dollplanet.ru),Jane Jurinsson (www.dollyshouse.ru), Alena Zhirenkina
Online shop at Livemaster livemaster.ru/alenazhirenkina