The matryoshka dolls – decorative nesting objects that have smaller figures placed in bigger ones – have been strongly connected to Russia for decades, but Alina Karmadanova sees them as a more personal form of expression.
“For me, working with the matryoshka form is also about reclaiming meaning,” Karmadanova said in an email to CTV News Atlantic. “While the doll is often seen as a national symbol, I approach it as something that belongs to people, families, and personal histories rather than to any political system or regime.
“Through my work, I aim to separate the form from fixed or imposed narratives and return it to a space of personal memory, care, and creative reinterpretation.”
Karmadanova, who was born in Siberia and has taken her artistic work around the world, will be leading a workshop in Fredericton on the folklore and history of matryoshka dolls. Participants will also get a chance to create their own set of dolls.
“I hope participants leave the workshop with a sense of connection and personal meaning,” Karmadanova said. “The goal is not to recreate a traditional matryoshka, but to reinterpret the form in a way that feels relevant to their own lives.
“For many people, this may involve reflecting on family history, relationships between generations, or personal identity. For others, it may simply be an opportunity to slow down, work with their hands, and create something meaningful and symbolic.”
Karmadanova studied architecture and design in Russia before completing an online master’s degree on illustration and contemporary visual storytelling in the United Kingdom. She moved to Canada and continued her studies at the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design.
“My work explores themes of identity, memory, family, and women’s experiences through traditional mediums such as watercolor, acrylics, and oil,” she said. “Alongside this, I engage with readymade objects, developing contemporary reinterpretations and sculptural pieces.”
Karmadanova noted that matryoshka dolls date back to the 1890s in Russia. They were partially inspired by Japanese nesting dolls and were originally intended as toys and decorative objects.
“Today, matryoshkas are made in many styles, with artists depicting everything from traditional family motifs to famous personalities or imaginative characters, showing how this simple form has evolved into a flexible canvas for creative expression,” she said. “Learning about these parallels helped me see matryoshka dolls not as a fixed national symbol, but as part of a broader, shared visual language that different cultures have explored in their own ways.”
In her series “Iconic Reflections,” Karmadanova used the matryoshka to explore women’s contemporary experiences.
“In this series, each doll represents aspects of daily beauty routines and the ongoing decisions women make in relation to beauty standards,” she said. “Rather than presenting a fixed message, the work reflects the repetitive, ongoing nature of these choices and the complex space they occupy in everyday life.
“When I later began planning workshops in Fredericton, I realized that working with this form had brought me a great deal of reflection and joy. I felt it could offer participants a meaningful way to engage with personal stories, identity, and creativity through a familiar yet reimagined object.”
The workshop will be held at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Feb. 28. Tickets are $120.
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