A lonely Manitoban field was given its moment in the spotlight when Saskatchewan-born artist Heather Benning decided it was the ideal spot to breathe life into her childhood dollhouse fantasies. Benning chose an abandoned farmhouse—dilapidated and ramshackle is putting it kindly—and over the course of eighteen months, she restored it to a charming echo of its former glory.
As its last inhabitants walked out the door at some point in the 1960s, the interior wall colors and choice of furnishings reflect this time in history, adding further appeal, and yet, a touch of melancholy when one thinks about the house that has stood unoccupied, unloved, for the better part of the last century.
The entire north side of the house has had its wood and plaster face removed and instead is shielded from the elements by Plexiglas, enhancing the overall effect that this is, in fact, a Dollhouse. Benning has reportedly said that the house will remain an art project until it falls down. [CBC]
“We used to have an abandoned farm on my father’s land where I grew up, and I used to play there a lot when I was younger,” she told CBC. “I’d play inside the house and set it up and stage it and things like that.”
