Jeanphilippe Primeau, the talent behind Bestiaire Doll, is an exemplary creator whose dolls defy categorization as their powerfully generous presences magically transform, like goddesses, to connect with us viewers at that exact place where we exist emotionally and intellectually. Dolldom is honored, once again (our first collab was Chuchu in April 2022), to be able to showcase the most recent creation of Primeau, the exquisite Aliocha.
A painter as well as a sculptor, Primeau expresses his ideas using different mediums, and dolls become another canvas for him in which paint combines with resin, vintage fabric, mohair wool, beads, gold foil, and feathers in an overflowing creative stream. Aliocha is, like all of Primeau's dolls, a 100% handmade object that will gladly play with the dollector as well as exist as an elevated aesthetic expression in a room or a museum.
Dolldom and Primeau sat down for an interview right after the completion of photography to discuss his creative process. Primeau also shared diptychs of his inspirations with the transporting photography of Montreal-based photographer Jogn the Alien.
Dolldom: What ignited your process for the creation of this stupendously opulent line of Aliocha?
Primeau: Actually, it wasn't supposed to be a line nor a collection. It's just that I ended up making one after the other and they kind of fit well together.
Dolldom: Who came first?
Primeau: The first was the Rainbow Girl, I was weirdly inspired by a scene in the movie Grease 2 where the characters sing in a talent show and they each wear outfits representing the months. I liked that it was a bit cabaret, campy and crafty. And I wanted to do something inspired by that. I wanted this Aliocha to be Rococo, very soft, and pastel. I was seeing in my head the rainbow hat with all the beads, and the doll representing the sky. The photo of Rainbow Girl is by me.
A painter as well as a sculptor, Primeau expresses his ideas using different mediums, and dolls become another canvas for him in which paint combines with resin, vintage fabric, mohair wool, beads, gold foil, and feathers in an overflowing creative stream. Aliocha is, like all of Primeau's dolls, a 100% handmade object that will gladly play with the dollector as well as exist as an elevated aesthetic expression in a room or a museum.
Dolldom and Primeau sat down for an interview right after the completion of photography to discuss his creative process. Primeau also shared diptychs of his inspirations with the transporting photography of Montreal-based photographer Jogn the Alien.
Dolldom: What ignited your process for the creation of this stupendously opulent line of Aliocha?
Primeau: Actually, it wasn't supposed to be a line nor a collection. It's just that I ended up making one after the other and they kind of fit well together.
Dolldom: Who came first?
Primeau: The first was the Rainbow Girl, I was weirdly inspired by a scene in the movie Grease 2 where the characters sing in a talent show and they each wear outfits representing the months. I liked that it was a bit cabaret, campy and crafty. And I wanted to do something inspired by that. I wanted this Aliocha to be Rococo, very soft, and pastel. I was seeing in my head the rainbow hat with all the beads, and the doll representing the sky. The photo of Rainbow Girl is by me.
Dolldom: Her blue energy captivated us, the rainbow being such an integral symbol of diversity. And then?
Primeau: Star Girl was inspired by Bauhaus ballet. My aim was to transform the shape of the doll as a star and make her part of that star, with the little hat and big shoulders. And the curtains drape with the tassels just like at a theater for a play or a ballet.
Dolldom: The construction of the jacket is awe-inducing. Your IQ must be off the roof! What inspired the third?
Primeau: Moon Girl was inspired by old 1920s and 1930s costumes. I wanted to place on the doll in a moon cut-out and keep the design simple.
Dolldom: She is a stunning presence emitting a glow all her own! What about your fourth doll?
Primeau: For Sun Girl, I was inspired by Louis XIV and his depiction as the Sun King, on a stylistic point of view, something very Versailles, Rococo, with a n abundance of gold and warm tones. I wanted for a long time to do my own version of this classic outfit. There are many differences in my version, like the corset, the Elizabethan collar, and the stockings. I wanted to do it with a contemporary twist, while making sure to add at least the iconic sun hat, handmade with hand sculpted rays and ostrich feathers.
Primeau: For Sun Girl, I was inspired by Louis XIV and his depiction as the Sun King, on a stylistic point of view, something very Versailles, Rococo, with a n abundance of gold and warm tones. I wanted for a long time to do my own version of this classic outfit. There are many differences in my version, like the corset, the Elizabethan collar, and the stockings. I wanted to do it with a contemporary twist, while making sure to add at least the iconic sun hat, handmade with hand sculpted rays and ostrich feathers.
Dolldom: Outstanding! Thank you, Jeanphilippe, for having colaborated with Dolldom once again! For more information on Aliocha and all Primeau's creations make sure to follow Bestiaire Doll and his Instagram feed.
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