This image is a close up from some artwork I’ve been meaning to finish for some time. It’s a piece that is meant to be set in the distant future where biological life no longer exists and consciousness if divided amongst discarded inanimate objects. It’s part inspired by the following story.
The base of this artwork was a simple store mannequin stock photo…
Post Human Catatonia
Since childhood I’ve always had a fear of store mannequins, not an irrational fear but a fear firmly rooted in a twisted childhood memory based on a terrifying experience.
When I was a child around six years old my mother took me to a department store and managed to lose me in the ladies wear department. I found myself surrounded by what appeared to be overly tall grinning ladies encased in plaster.
I was petrified by the gaze of lifeless eyes like the imminent victim of circling sharks; for a moment I was alone and abandoned in a world seemingly frozen in time.
One of the mannequins blinked slowly whilst another subtly turned her head to look in my direction. Was this childhood imagination or the underdeveloped brain experiencing hallucinations induced by a state of confusion and abandonment? I’d love to think this really happened.
Now whenever I pass a mannequin I still feel a brief shudder and often wonder if they harbour any consciousness? It would be the saddest existence to live inside a hollow shell, forever stationary and watching the world around you crumble along with yourself.
Now I don’t mind the ladies wear department, I’m normally found wandering the ladies lingerie section. Oh I’ve spoilt it right at the end!