DOLLS' PARADISE (2024) Original Mixed-media Painting by Gela MIKAVA

DOLLS' PARADISE is a large-scale abstract figurative mixed-media painting by Gela Mikava, exploring identity, social roles, stereotypes and the boundaries imposed by contemporary society.

The painting depicts doll-like human figures inhabiting an apparently perfect and idealised environment — a “paradise” that gradually reveals itself as a frame, a box. Beauty and visual harmony coexist with confinement, creating a tension between appearance and individual freedom.

Through fragmented figures, expressive forms and colour, Mikava explores the inner struggle between conformity and individuality. The dolls become metaphors for people shaped by predefined roles, expectations and social structures, while their differences suggest a persistent desire to preserve a unique identity.

Dolls' Paradise asks what happens when an ideal world becomes a form of restriction. What are the invisible boxes that define us, and how can an individual move beyond them?

Created as a large-scale mixed-media work on fabric, the painting combines figurative imagery with contemporary abstraction and a tactile, expressive surface.

At 120 × 140 cm, the work has a substantial visual presence and belongs to Mikava's ongoing exploration of identity, human behaviour and the relationship between the individual and society.

Materials used:

oil, and acrylic on Soviet-era cotton fabric

Details:

• Mixed-media painting on Fabric
• One of a kind artwork
• Size: 120 x 140 x 3cm (unframed)
• Signed on the front
• Style: Abstract
• Subject: People and portraits