Jehovah’s Witnesses visit regularly, and Alice Hawkins responds by presenting Dolly Parton as her source of belonging and belief. Her devotion intensified after a friend’s suicide left her distressed, and a trip to Dollywood with her husband helped her feel spiritually at home. She returned to make art, using stylists, hairdressers, and clothes she had previously avoided, creating self-portraits and films where Dolly’s presence felt constant. She traveled to Nashville and to Parton’s home to photograph herself dressed as her idol, collecting leaves for a shrine. The shrine includes photographs, memorabilia, and hair extensions, and it is set to be displayed at Somerset House in an exhibition alongside other celebrity-related shrines.
"They come around here every Thursday, says the photographer. So I get my Dolly Parton book out and explain to them that Dolly is where I find my belonging, Dolly is where I find my belief. One presumes that does the trick, but it's worth noting that Hawkins isn't joking."
"In an attempt to cheer her up, her husband suggested visiting Dollywood, the singer's 150-acre theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. I just felt like I'd found some kind of spiritual home, like my mecca, says the photographer. I found some solace. When we drove home, I said to my husband, I'm going to go back there and start making work. I'm going to do a project.'"
"She did indeed return, with a stylist, a hairdresser and clothes I'd been buying for years that were quite Dollified, that I'd never been brave enough to wear, making self-portraits and films of me everywhere I felt Dolly's presence. She also travelled to Nashville and to Parton's home to take photographs, still dressed as her idol. I did pick some leaves from her front garden and kept them. They're dry and disintegrating now, but they're in my shrine."
"Said shrine not just the leaves but photographs, memorabilia and a surprising amount of human hair (You can't really talk about Dolly Parton and forget hair. I've kept all the hair extensions I've worn when I've dressed as Dolly) is about to go on display as part of an exhibition at London's Somerset House called Holy Pop."
Read at www.theguardian.com
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