“I have three passions in life: painting, movies and dolls,” states Juan Albuerne. “When I found that I could join all of them, I knew that I would be able to transform dolls into favourite movie stars.”
God love him.
Albuerne obsessively repaints and remodels the faces of generic 11″ dolls such as Barbie, Midge, Candi and others. With the help of various wig masters and costume designers, the dolls are magically transformed into the likenesses of Liza, Barbra and Whoopie. His site shows off around 100 of his creations. It can be both stunning and awful.
When he gets it bang on (Diana Ross or Catherine Zeta-Jones) it’s inspired. When he gets it wrong (Beyoncé, Marilyn Monroe and Rita Hayworth) it’s even better – like seeing a bad outfit at the Oscars. There’s joy in wondering, “What was he thinking?”
But hey, don’t you dare dis the Albuerne. Anyone who would bother to make Ava Gardner in Mogambo and Sylvia Kristel in Emmanuelle is the man!
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