Reborn

Dates

2015 - Ongoing
Author

Karolina Jonderko
Topics Daily Life, Social Issues, Documentary
Locations Poland, England

Babies awaken strong emotions in adults. We look after them with care and gentleness, we love them. Surprisingly, this is the case even if they are not real.I wanted to find out why...

It looks like a real baby, it even smells like one, but it’s made of vinyl. When you take on such a doll, you are given a birth certificate with the weight and height, just like a real baby. Each and every one of them is unique, carefully crafted by reborn artists, that’s why they are collected as pieces of art. Yet those dolls happen to be a powerful therapy tool. It’s proven that cuddling a baby causes a release of hormones, which produce a sense of well-being. They bring comfort.

Every woman has a unique motive for having such a baby. The maternal instinct is so strong that those who can’t have, or have lost a baby, give their love to an unreal one. They look after them, change them, take them for a walk and buy clothes for them. The “babies” provide companionship, they bring calming routine, they are a little bundle of joy to love and help their “mothers” dealing with loss, depression, trauma or anxiety.

© Karolina Jonderko - Image from the Reborn photography project

i

Babies for adoption. There are hundreds of dolls you can choose from at the doll show. These events are very popular in the UK – families, couples and single people come along to look for a perfect "baby".

© Karolina Jonderko - There is a lot of tenderness and love between the dolls and their owners.

i

There is a lot of tenderness and love between the dolls and their owners.

© Karolina Jonderko - Image from the Reborn photography project

i

Katarzyna with her doll and children in the play park. Most of the time when Katarzyna takes her kids out the doll comes too. People approach her to admire the newborn baby. Not being able to tell the difference once told their reactions vary – from excitement to shock.

© Karolina Jonderko - Some dolls are made from silicone. They are more expensive. Their skin is very gentle and smooth, like the real baby's skin.

i

Some dolls are made from silicone. They are more expensive. Their skin is very gentle and smooth, like the real baby's skin.

© Karolina Jonderko - Image from the Reborn photography project

i

Basia, Dominika, Magda and Emilka are going trekking. A few times a year doll lovers and collectors gather to spend time together and exchange experiences, like all new mummies do. One of them, Dominika is a teenager .Knowing she’s too young to have kids she adopted a doll to fulfil her strong maternal instinct.

© Karolina Jonderko - Image from the Reborn photography project

i

Basia Smolińska is changing little Lincoln's clothes. Basia's love for reborn dolls started a few years ago, when she saw the BBC documentary "My fake baby". Recently she started to produce the dolls herself and as reborn dolls became more and more popular the hobby changed into a business.

© Karolina Jonderko - Image from the Reborn photography project

i

Magdalena putting her doll to sleep. Lorcia became part of the family a few years ago when Magdalena and her husband had been trying for a baby for 7 years. Recently Magdalena gave birth to a baby boy and the doll is now in a cupboard, no longer needed - yet Lorcia had fulfilled her therapeutic purpose.

© Karolina Jonderko - Image from the Reborn photography project

i

Lorcia’s room. Lorcia was part of the family for seven years because Magdalena could not conceive. A year ago she gave birth to a baby boy. The doll now safely stored in a cupboard is no longer needed - yet fulfilled her therapeutic purpose.

© Karolina Jonderko - Image from the Reborn photography project

i

Ewa suffers from anxiety. She is afraid to leave the house which makes her ability to meet new people very difficult. The doll keeps her company and calms her when having anxiety attacks.

© Karolina Jonderko - Image from the Reborn photography project

i

Baby album. Magdalena loved to dress her doll up. Before she gave birth to her son she used to change Lorcia's [the doll's] outfit everyday and take a photo for her baby album.

© Karolina Jonderko - Image from the Reborn photography project

i

Katarzyna has 4 children, adopting the reborn doll after miscarriage a few years ago. Her children love the doll, they do things together, treat it as a part of the family.

© Karolina Jonderko - Image from the Reborn photography project

i

The oldest son is lying next to his mum's reborn doll. Katarzyna Kiełbasińska has 4 children, but she got interested in reborn dolls when she miscarried a few years ago. They are spending holidays together

© Karolina Jonderko - Image from the Reborn photography project

i

Kasia has 4 children, adopting the reborn doll after miscarriage a few years ago. Her children love the doll, they do things together, treat it as a part of the family.

© Karolina Jonderko - Image from the Reborn photography project

i

Since there was only one high chair in the restaurant the rest of the dolls were left on the floor which draw attention of the customers.

© Karolina Jonderko - Basia is packing the doll to the suitcase since she doesn't want to draw attention in the bus.

i

Basia is packing the doll to the suitcase since she doesn't want to draw attention in the bus.

© Karolina Jonderko - Katarzyna's children treat the doll as part of the family.

i

Katarzyna's children treat the doll as part of the family.

© Karolina Jonderko - Image from the Reborn photography project

i

There are many reasons why women buy reborn dolls. One of them is the need to be needed and to have someone to look after. In this case the "child" is sick and needs to be taken care of. Many dolls are custom made so you can buy one with any kind of deformity or genetic disease. Memorial dolls are also very popular, often based on a photograph of the late child.

© Karolina Jonderko - When leaving the house "moms" often turn the tv on for the dolls. So they don't feel alone.

i

When leaving the house "moms" often turn the tv on for the dolls. So they don't feel alone.

© Karolina Jonderko - Image from the Reborn photography project

i

Making off the doll. Doll must be backed in the oven in order to fix the special paint on the vinyl. It takes up to 2 weeks to make a doll. It all depends on the order.

© Karolina Jonderko - Image from the Reborn photography project

i

The new reborn doll is packed and ready to be sent to a new "mummy". The package includes a birth certificate and layette. The box opening ritual is very important for new doll owners. Many women film this moment and share it on YouTube and reborn doll forums.

Latest Projects

Project

Like the Waves Appear and Disappear and Appear Again
Project

Angle of Draw
Project

You Are Everything to Me
Project

Close to the ground, far from heaven
Project

You Wouldn't Be So Depressed if You Really Believed in God
Project

Strawberry blue