The Eyes Have It

Secondhand Store, Christchurch. May 2008. Ajr

Whenever I need inspiration – or distraction - I simply click in to my collection of mannequin photographs – filed neatly in my external hard drive as “Mannequins & Other Madness.” I have yet to figure out what it is about mannequin heads that so captures my imagination. Maybe it’s the improbable regalia some of them are dressed in? Their eyes? The ‘distant’ far-away look that some of them have? The uncanny life-like quality of others? And then there is the sheer unexpectedness of their poses and the way they have been ‘called to duty’ to advertise a product, a place, a business. I never tire of photographing them. If you put the word ‘mannequins’ into the search box (above left) you’ll see a few more of my mad girls.