[see video below, in Spanish]

This is an ongoing project in which I create pencil portraits of playthings past and present, from all over the world.

 The seed for this project was a drawing I did of a doll at the Museum of Childhood in Edinburgh. Made out of a shoe and some rags, it belonged to a child in a London slum in c.1905, and seems to embody so many things at once, perfectly and disarmingly capturing what a plaything is.

At first glance, I found its appearance devastating and heartbreaking. I may have even put a hand to my chest and let out a strangled “Oh!”. But I soon felt ashamed, as though I had caught myself engaging in slum tourism. The more I looked at the doll the more I felt that there was more to it than the tragedy of a girl living in poverty.

The doll is a perfect example of what constitutes a good plaything: it is a manifestation of possibility. What if a discarded old shoe sole could become a doll, with a name and a dress, and even a personality to go with it? Think of all the things it could do now!

As I drew the shoe doll, it started to come to life a little in my head — I got to know her a bit more, and saw her character coming through. I thought it might be interesting to explore some other playthings from a wide range of times and places, and get to know them too, also through illustration.

I studied archaeology at university and practised it on and off for a few years. I remember well the feeling I would get whenever I or someone in the team found a certain kind of artifact at a dig – I would describe it as emotional time-travel vertigo.

A medieval shoe in a ditch (lost by its owner? accidentally dropped? thrown in deliberately?); a piece of pottery with a funny face on it (Did the potter’s painted faces always turn out like that? How long did he take to paint each one?).  

What I liked and what moved me about those artifacts was their eminently commonplace and unequivocally human character: they brought me closer to specific individuals, and to specific moments in their lives. When I saw and touched the artifacts, I would eagerly imagine other lives lived, in all their mundane, everyday glory.

For the same reason, I also have a soft spot for centuries-old graffiti in churches — I deeply enjoy the mischief, the spontaneous moment preserved for posterity.

Playthings hold a similar interest for me — they are everyday objects that accompany us and are witness to our lives; they offer a glimpse into moments of comfort, abstraction, or delight that we have experienced. They are vital objects, to the extent that we will repurpose anything to serve as one. They can also be a child’s most intimate possessions – and an adult’s, too.

I intend to offer portraits of a wide range of playthings from all over the world and from very different times.

I am excited to share this exploration with you, and to see where it will take me.

And so, to play.

Imogen Duthie, 8th of January 2021