The Artist Explains: Maiah Manser - 'DoLL'
Queer artist Maiah Manser speaks to us about her thrilling single and visuals for, ‘DoLL’ which tackles toxic masculinity and breaks down feminine stereotypes.
Where was the video for ‘DoLL’ filmed?
Salton Sea, at my home in Los Angeles and my director's home studio (MOM).
How does the video connect with the song?
The song is blatantly asking the question, "Am I a good enough doll for you?" really taking a stab at the feminine stereotype and calling out toxic masculinity. The director, Rachael Larkin, and I wanted to take an empowering spin and put more focus on modernising archetypes rather than the one stereotype and include a very well rounded cast for all of those roles.
Do you have any behind the scenes stories you can share with us?
During the Female Academy Award scene, Audur and Sophia only had 20 minutes(!) to paint my body entirely gold before the sun went down. I was standing almost fully nude on top of a pedestal right next to the Salton Sea. If you don't know anything about the Salton Sea, it was essentially a man made accident, that has salt content so high that no fish can survive making it a wasteland of dead fish and a strong smell of sulfur. My director somehow talked me into getting into the water as well! That night we had to drive back to Los Angeles, while I was still fully painted gold. We stopped at a tiny gas station where I proceeded to shock everyone I passed, they kept laughing and I think a couple children hid behind their parent? Anyhow, it took me 3 full days to completely scrub the gold off of me.
Could you tell us about the ideas/ themes/ imagery used?
The archetypes we follow in the video are a fallen Victoria's Secret Angel, Mary Had A Little Lamb, Swan Lake, Virgin Mary, Censor Bar Renaissance painting, Medusa, Yoko Ono (cut piece), Female Academy Award. We had filmed other characters: Ophelia, Barbie and Venus, but they didn't make it into the video!
What do you hope people take away from watching the video?
I hope that the video paired with the message of the song creates discussion about our gender roles. Additionally, I hope that femxle identifying people can feel seen and empowered.
Interview by Karla Harris