This series of tableau vivants (or dollhouses) reference a novel by Philip K Dick called The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch.

An “eldritch” quality is particularly important when describing the dollhouses.

Eldritch means weird and sinister, uncanny, strange, something that is quite peculiar or “feels off”. But whatever this is, be that architecture or meeting a stranger, it is part of this reality, but doesn’t exactly fit.

The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch story revolves a future world where global temperatures have risen so high that in most of the world it is unsafe to be outside. Mars has been colonised, but the conditions are so horrific that people start to perform a form of escapism involving the use of an illegal drug (Can-D) while playing with “Layouts”.

This is serious play for adults for want to escape.

The layouts are essentially psychedelic Barbie playhouses, that reflect in the liminal space between the two worlds.