Meet the eternal Halloween or the French author's Delightfully Scary Dolls.

Continuing the conversation about alternative dolls, let's pay attention to the work of an eccentric master.

Julian Martinez (JULIEN MARTINEZ)- a graduate of the School of Fine Arts in Bordeaux, was born in 1970 in France. In 1996 he presented his dolls for the first time at an international exhibition "Paris-Creation", where he immediately achieved great success.

Julian collected vintage Barbie dolls from the 60s in his youth. Even then, he decided that he would become a professional puppeteer. Constantly researching and improving, by trial and error, he has been working on puppets for more than ten years.

At the National School of the Arts, where he was admitted in 1990, Martinez finally felt completely happy.

Here a new wonderful world opened to the artist. Once at the exhibition of art dolls, Julian wanted to try his hand at a new direction.

Looking at the heroes of the master, it is difficult to say from which stage of the work he gets more pleasure. Here he constructs with pleasure the caps of rebellious curls of fantastic colors on the heads of the dolls, here he shows the impeccable taste of the doll couturier. The author painstakingly works on makeup and even tints the eyes of the dolls.

Usually dolls are associated with beautiful or touching images.
Julian Martinez manages to create scary dolls that captivate and delight many at first sight.

Viewers' reviews:

• Ambiguous creativity, but one thing can be said with certainty - IMPRESSIVE! Rarely something catches the soul, but these works were of interest at first sight.

• It seems the images are repulsive, but there is nothing disgusting in them. On the contrary, they attract attention, you want to consider them.

• There are connoisseurs of such aesthetics, frightening and alluring at the same time! It is difficult to convey all the feelings and thoughts that arise while watching, as if you are falling into the depths of eras.

• The concept of beauty is different for everyone. Every detail has been worked out here. Each doll is a complete image, neither add nor subtract. Everything is exactly as it should be ...

• The doll hit me in the heart. She was the embodiment of something from a childhood horror story I had forgotten. It combined funny and unsightly features of characters from Tim Burton's cartoons, alluring and at the same time repulsive and some kind of inexpressible universal sadness.

The dolls of the master are unusual for many. It is worth trying to perceive them without comparing them with the works of other masters. Let's look at these unusual creatures leaving stereotypes. Then, perhaps, we will be able to see what the artist wanted to say.

Julian says:

“I draw inspiration from the culture of the 19th century, the Victorian era. I love the fashion and lifestyle of the people of that time. I like English and German romanticism, which is often called “Gothic”.

“It is vital for me to be able to constantly create and interact with dolls. I really love sculpting, this is an important part of my job. The materials I use are polymer clay and natural fabrics. For some of the dolls, I use antique materials. I can age the fabric myself if I need to make the doll more expressive. ”

"The main thing is for people to react."

Julian Martinez loves to evoke strong emotions in the viewer. And it doesn't matter at all whether they are positive or negative. The main thing is not to be left without a response in the heart. Sometimes the master chooses very shocking means, but always achieves his goal.

The author explains that images that are strange to understand do not necessarily have negative content. It's just a look at the contradictions of life and the presence of dark sides in it. If a doll doesn't look cute in the conventional sense of the word, it doesn't have to be negatively charged.

To many, these dolls will seem repulsive, gloomy, frightening ... Others will find in them a hidden meaning, a sad image, sadness ...

It is absolutely clear that these dolls will not leave anyone indifferent.

Collectors from all over the world fight at auctions for them, even the starting price of a thousand dollars does not stop.

The perception of the master's works directly depends on the mood and state of mind. Today there may be rejection, and tomorrow, delight.

Highly, artistically, such a fragile attitude to the eternal, past, distant, unattainable and irrevocable. Very atmospheric work.   

Many great artists have created a gloomy and mysterious depiction of the world. But it never occurs to anyone to recognize their talent as less significant.

Julian's creative range is wide. In his workshop you can find replicas of antique dolls, doll houses and miniatures of the 1:12 standard, decorated and furnished in the Gothic style.

Julian Martinez's characters are not affectionate. What can you do, not everyone can understand the artist and accept his worldview. But the master never discourages and continues to create his images, invariably winning the applause of collectors.

Photos are taken from open sources on the Internet.

With love and respect, Tatiana Kalinina

Instagram @tatakalinyshka