Aysha Nagieva uses distinct memories from her childhood featuring the Nevalyashka doll and utilises them as the perfect surrogate for self-portraiture. Nagieva paints the dolls repeatedly in order to manifest her own memories and recollections of the past. By showcasing them in oil paint or watercolours, she creates time capsules that are external from her. The resultant works are memory beings, which hold her own expressions, yet also showcase a period in time.

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Whilst the toys Nagieva paints are made solely of plastic, she hopes to showcase the vulnerability of the material to dent, scratch and deflate, in order to reflect the imperfect and nostalgic nature of memories.