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The black-and-white photograph shows a dollhouse kitchen, taken from a slightly elevated angle. The refrigerator door is open, and dishes and cutlery are scattered across the floor. Amid the mess between the kitchen unit and the dining table, a doll figure is doing a handstand.

In and Around the House: The complete early black and white photographs

Laurie Simmons

  • Year 1978-79
  • Edition 9/10
  • Material/Technique 56 black-and-white photographs
  • Dimensions 20,3 x 25 cm each
  • Category Photography

In and Around the House, an early photo series, represents a major break-through in Laurie Simmons’ career as an artist. Staged domestic interiors are inhabited by a tiny female doll. The photographer’s delight in manipulating the mirror-world of dollhouses is already palpable.
56 photographs tell a varied and often slightly disturbing story. They seem to refer to the diary of a housewife in a playful 1950s environment that contains hidden drama und pleasures. The staging subtly hints at certain dangers the housewife doll might be exposed to. One image shows China shards on the floor, right next to the prone figure of a rigid doll. What is the story behind this scenario? 
Another image shows stilettos strewn in a bedroom, suggesting the tail end of a festive evening. In and Around the House is a panoramic journey through multilayered settings that inspires viewers to conjecture what might have happened.