artists statement
On the surface, Barbie appears perfect. Shes beautiful, has great clothes, several good careers, and a
perpetual smile on her face. As a child, I was always bothered by that smile- I put her through any number of tragedies,
but no matter what befell her, she kept that fixed little smirk. As an adult, thinking about that fixed expression of
pleasure made me start to think about what she might be hiding behind the façade of perfection- after all, how great could
life really be for a woman who clearly has an eating disorder, an addiction to plastic surgery, and nothing between her ears?
My photographs portray the dark side of life in the Dream House: Barbies obsession with her body, Kens quest for sexual
gratification, all the dirty little secrets they attempt to hide as they present themselves as icons of the American Dream.
All of the photographs are shot using 35 mm film and are printed by the artist. The prints are done on double weight
fiber paper and are selenium toned for archivabilty. The photos are done in limited editions of five prints.
about the artist
Sarah Haney is a photographer working in Denver, CO. She is the co-director of CORE New Art Space, a local cooperative gallery. She received her BFA from the University of Colorado- Boulder in 1999.