Heather Benning’s life-size  dollhouse- a popular entry in last year’s Contact Photography Festival – is now a burned ruin. The western Canadian artist torched it, saying she plans an exhibition called Death of the Dollhouse.  See more on the WP blog ReadReidRead, where the story about Benning’s act of fire originated.  (The rest of this post is Canadian Art Junkie’s original piece on Benning’s work, last year)

Benning’s life-size dollhouse began on an abandoned farm in rural Manitoba and was on exhibit in Toronto’s Contact Photography Festival last spring. Her 30 photos provided a look through an entire wall of Plexiglas, revealing rooms now restored with decor from the time the house was abandoned in 1968.

-Reshingling the roof

–Kitchen Sideboard before Restoration

The contrast in the exterior and interior speak to themes surrounding the passage of time, childhood play, memory, reclamation and nostalgia. The Dollhouse delves deeply…