In Dowling’s false/true self series the artist has embroidered text into vintage childhood handkerchiefs. Drawing on the theory of the ‘false and true self’ by British psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott, the artist explores the impact of formative years spent distorting or concealing one’s identity as a means of survival.
Winnicott “distinguished between the true self, the spontaneous, authentic core of a person, and the false self, a compliant surface built to meet others’ expectations and protect the true self beneath. A false self develops when a child must adapt too much, too early, to a caregiver’s needs, learning to perform rather than simply to be.”
Dowling utilises vintage fabrics and imagery from childhood as a reference to the coping mechanisms, traits and falsehoods we inherit from family. Incorporating seemingly innocent visual elements of circuses, baby animals and the hankie as a site for emotional release, the artist asks – Who can we be when we are finally safe enough to become ourselves?
And for my next trick I will become exactly who I was always meant to be, 2026, hand-embroidery, cotton thread on vintage cotton handkerchief, 38 x 38 x 4cm (framed), photos by Tobias Titz
