Leaves from Dolly Parton\u2019s front garden, a Yellow Submarine cookie jar full of ashes, a branch from the tree Marc Bolan\u2019s car hit \u2026 our writer explores Holy Pop, the exhibition where superfans are sacred<\/p>\n
Alice Hawkins has a unique way of dealing with the unwanted attentions of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses seeking out converts door to door. \u201cThey come around here every Thursday,\u201d says the photographer. \u201cSo I get my Dolly Parton book out and explain to them that Dolly is where I find my belonging, Dolly is where I find my belief.\u201d<\/p>\n
One presumes that does the trick, but it\u2019s worth noting that Hawkins isn\u2019t joking. Parton was always her favourite singer, but her obsession flowered in the wake of a friend\u2019s suicide, which left Hawkins \u201ca mess\u201d. In an attempt to cheer her up, her husband suggested visiting Dollywood, the singer\u2019s 150-acre theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. \u201cI just felt like I\u2019d found some kind of spiritual home, like my mecca,\u201d says the photographer. \u201cI found some solace. When we drove home, I said to my husband, \u2018I\u2019m going to go back there and start making work. I\u2019m going to do a project.\u2019 It just made me feel really alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/9d3b95e6954fe8b49630ffb7363ff41d54974760\/0_2717_4480_3584\/master\/4480.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=d4773f5fd36cbc0a80a570a731d13a17\" "\\"Behold!")
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