Remember the dolls that used to creep you out as a kid? For this artist, they're everything

Lest we take this too far, let's get it straight: Andrea Hooge's work is charming, incredibly detailed and has a disarming sense of humour. She's an artist who has a wholly healthy love for vintage toys, dolls, animals and children's books. They're her main sources of inspiration for her scratchboard illustrations and oil paintings. But her world is definitely one where cute and creepy collide in a sometimes unsettling way. Her East Vancouver studio at The Arts Factory is populated by paintings of floating doll heads and works featuring animals wearing masks of other animals.

"I'm really drawn to those early childhood experiences and how they shape a person," Hooge says. Her fascination with childhood objects and images is informed by a background in psychology and a special interest in psychoanalysis and the subconscious. The artist explains: "The things that people are surrounded by when they're growing up really impact who they grow up to be." And her work embodies all of the playfulness and humour of these childhood relics — while including details and symbolism that play into a larger narrative.

In this video, Andrea Hooge takes us into her studio and shows us her main sources of inspirations — including a special future plan for the son she's expecting!

Follow Andrea Hooge here.

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