manikins
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| Towards Terra Verde |
I've been working on a "manikins" series of photographs since Andro moved in. I was interested in trying out image projections as well as superimposition of images onto the body. The theme for the series is that these entities abandon their current planet of habitation (whether forced to because of some cataclysm or by personal choice) and migrate to another world that will hopefully be better... some nirvana. During the voyage, they come across new worlds, experiencing feelings of nostalgia and anticipation. New vistas are projected onto their bodies — they are but an expression of the external.
This exploration also brings up interesting questions about the make gaze, since the manikins evoke a certain degree of sensuality. Does the theory of the male gaze (the photographer's) apply to an object (the manikin)? Can an object be subjectified — in this case, is the object assuming traits similar to those of a human? Interesting... Isn't it spelled "mannequin"? Well, it seems that "manikin" is an accepted alternative spelling, which I have adopted for this series.
You may also be interested in searching the Web for Eugène Atget and Lee Friedlander, two photographers who have taken photographs of mannequins in shop window displays. Also, an introductory video to Season 5 of Mad Men, "What Is There to Love If Not the Enigma?" provides insight into the life and artwork of metaphysical artist Giorgio de Chiricho who expressed his own interested in the mannequin.
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