Harriet Hughes

Harriet Hughes is a multi-disciplinary artist who uses dolls to satirise consumer culture. By using advertisements as source material, she questions how the perception of self is continually exploited in order to produce profit for the beauty industry. Hughes lives and works in Gloucester, previously studying at Hereford College of Arts.

“ Dolls are fascinating objects. They serve as vessels which reflect our ideals throughout history, acting as mirrors, evoking an uncanny feeling in viewers. My practice focuses on the beauty industry and manipulative advertising, exploring how consumers ideology is shaped through media messaging. I use objects seen as kitsch to reveal the absurdity of the industry. When objects are labelled kitsch, we disregard the objects production. This disregard enables us to ignore the manufacturing process of the object, ignore exploitative labour and ignore the environmental impact of excessive consumption. I ask viewers to reconsider their relationship to their belongings. ”