Star Doll

Better known for her complex, large-scale installations that juxtapose Buddhist mysticism and an elegant, futuristic minimalism, Mariko Mori first came to prominence in the early 1990s with carefully staged self-portraits. In these digitally enhanced photographs, the artist appeared in costumes she designed, and in situations that were wry commentaries on the intersection of technology, pop culture and sexual objectification. One portrait, Birth of a Star, 1995, was the model for Star Doll. In the portrait, Mori appears as a perky but vacuous plastic pop star, an image of erogenous artifice in a vinyl cyber-schoolgirl outfit. The final transformation of woman into doll was achieved three years later with the production of this limited-edition doll for Parkett, an art publisher that creates books and collaborative art projects with contemporary artists.