The Keening Doll. Holding grief, lamenting, keening, eco-grief
The Keening Doll. Holding grief, lamenting, keening, eco-grief
This doll is a figure who representing grief. Hers is a grief of the land, of the plummeting numbers of birds, animals, insects and the toxic levels of whales, dolphins and the state of sea-life.
While we might mourn what we call eco-grief, we need to remember that we too are nature - although modernity might view humans as somehow separate or above nature. We are as much nature as the land, the birds and the sunset.
The shell on her ‘face’ is a symbolism that we are nature. We share 98.8% of our DNA with chimps, 90% of genes with cats, 80% with cattle and 82% of our genes with dogs.
Ritual
Her bag is a place for offerings - gratitudes, prayers, intentions - conversations between you and what you might call Goddess, God, the Divine or source and all the thousands of other names we might call the great mystery.
Making process design & embellishments
This doll is made over a wire armature so her arms are moveable. Her body is made from British core wool from UK small holdings (small farms).
Her shawl is made from Harris tweed, while her other fabrics are up-cycled and are a mix of natural and synthetic materials.
Her bag holds an embellishment of Scottish limpet shell and a cowrie shell (not Scottish).
The twigs in her hair are from a birch tree which came down in storm Éowyn in Jan 2025. While the massive intensity of this storm was due to many factors, the collapse of climate systems played a big role.
Doll Details
Hangs from the wall via a circular wire
Measurements
Doll total length - 80 cm / 31 inches - actual body - 47
Width - 33 cm / 12.9 inches
Shipping
UK - Tracked 48 via Royal Mail
The rest of the world: International Tracked via Royal Mail. You should receive an email from your carrier when your doll is out for oder