Welcome to the Weird Work of Deborah Colotti. A few of my favorite textiles, installations, assemblages and altered Barbies by artist Deborah Colotti of Sebastopol.

The Wonderfully Weird Work of Deborah Colotti

above: A Lawn of Legs by Deborah Colotti

Deborah describes herself and her assemblages as follows:
“I am angry. I am hopeful. I am cynical, yet full of humor. Whereas my working environment is surrounded by vast natural vistas for peaceful appreciation, my studio is loaded with objects and references gathered for their qualitative symbolism, as well as their emotive and aesthetic appeal. My mind roams around seeking connections between the absurd and the commonplace that I then pare down to essential personal and social symbols. As I arrange and rearrange the objects layered meanings are revealed and developed.”

Assemblages/ Sculptures:

The Hunters:

A Slice of Boyhood:

The Body Bureau

Spinal (and detail) and Tree of Limbs:

Installations:

above: wireframes with doll limbs for installations Lawn of Legs and Circle of Legs.

Circle of Legs:

Mannequin Territory:

Christie Tweet:

Christine Tweet (detail):

Jaws and Barbs:

For many years, she has toyed with the Barbie icon. In 1996, she began the ongoing series “the Barbs”. To date, she have created over 150 interpretations of Barb in the real world. Here are some of my favorite from her Barbs collection.

The Barbs

A Gun of Barb’s:

Barbie Virus 3:

Leggy Goggles:

Barbie Legs Mirror (straight):

Barbie Legs Mirror (bent):

Poop’d Barbie:

Harem Boy with Bra of Nails:

Barbie Trinity:

Her textile works integrate obsolete and broken items from her own household (especially toys), hand-me-rounds from her family, and discards from her friends.

Textiles

Ladies:

I Am An Animal:

Mom and Another Birthday Cake:


Conversations with father:

See more of her work at her website