THE PERSONA by Simona Mereu (The Mad Doll's Lounge)

Simona Mereu has always had a very fond interest in psychology, spirituality and dreams. For her dolls, she has allowed herself to be inspired by Jungian archetypes which are innate symbols that come from the collective unconscious. There are 12 total and here is Simona’s interpretation of the Shadow and the Persona.

Like all Archetypes and all characters in our dreams they always come with a purpose, we should spend some time to identify them and analyze the reasons why they have come to us in a specific moment of our lives. 

The Persona is how we present ourselves to the world, in other words the masks we use in our social lives. This is something we all do, whether we are conscious of it or not, it is a powerful archetype which may appear in dreams in different forms. The persona archetype allows people to adapt to the world around them and fit in with the society in which they live. However, becoming too closely identified with this archetype can lead people to lose sight of their true selves. 

For the representation of The Persona, Simona created a mysterious character dressed in light blue damask, barefoot and blind. She holds a cane with a mask on it. 

With her right hand she touches her heart as if she wants to keep the connection to her true self, but because of social rules and expectations, she also holds a mask. She is blind representing that we do all this unconsciously.

Her feet and hands are brown to represent how much we are all part of this masquerade. 

The Persona wears a hat that resembles Raku ceramic, a new technique that Simona has experimented and implemented into her new dolls.

The collar is made with antique lace and is removable. 

The doll is 17.7” tall (45cm), including the wooden base that is 1.37” (3.5cm).

This is a standing doll. It is made with paper clay over a solid wire armature. Head is ball jointed and allows to pose the doll in the preferred position. 

Arms are posable.