‘The Curse of The Matryoshka’ : March 1st – 23rd, 2019
Opening Reception: March 1st // 6 – 10pm
Arch Enemy Arts • 109 + 111 Arch Street in Philadelphia, PA 19106
Arch Enemy is excited to announce the Curse of the Matryoshka, the second AEA solo collection from Joe Vollan. Joe has a distinct and eerie style he calls doom folk, with works telling complex stories of heartache and adventure.
A story inspired by a set of Matryoshka dolls that Joe saw at an antique store in Buffalo, New York, curse of the Matryoshka is a story about a worm that is cursed by the devil, eaten by a magpie, who was doomed and eaten by the Knivesman of Madison, a fox who then inherited the curse and then passed it on to an eight-fingered butcher, a wolf, when he ate the fox. Baba Yaga the witch then ate the wolf and was cursed herself. The devil had known that this was exactly how things would work out as he intended the curse for the witch the entire time. As each creature was eaten they were turned into a Matryoshka doll in the stomach of the creature that ate them.
The story is told through a collection of paintings, each detailing a key scene in the saga and displayed with a corresponding hand sculpted and details matryoshka doll to represent each main character in the story.
