photography
My Girls
Notes
“My Girls”
The luring sound of house music engulfed my ears in the shopping mall and soon my body drifted effortlessly toward a trendy urban clothing store located in Jyvaskyla, Finland. From a distance I spotted a woman sitting on top of a display table which presented a fine array of clothing. Her hair was so lustrous and her brilliant clear complexion projected a unique glow to her presence. She was dressed very fashionably and her line of sight seemed somewhat distracted, yet sophisticated. I realized upon closer inspection that I was gazing at a very life-like mannequin. I was quite stunned, and I became conscious of several divisions and cliques of beautiful plastic women who were standing all around the store.
Although my initial reaction was one of surprise, my impulse was to photograph these mannequins as if I were a famous fashion photographer (perhaps for a few fleeting moments I convinced myself I was) and these mannequins became my models – "my girls". I was not only amazed by their life-like presence, but the societal codes and information built into the form and presentation of these hyper-real women. Of course all of "my girls" have slender figures and they model a perfect arrangement of coordinated clothing, fashion items and accessories, whether it is "Tory" in her casual but classy attire, "Amber" in a sophisticated business ensemble, or "Cindy" in her bright, seductive, yet tasteful undergarments. All of "my girls" present the ideal image for today's metropolitan female dweller.
I refer to them as "my girls" because while I worked at photographing them, I felt as if they became my artistic property. In the fashion industry, it is very common for a photographer, designer or agent to express similar language codes of ownership and gender. By dissecting the title, one understands the "my" to implement the element of ownership and intimacy and "girls" suggest a playful youthfulness, despite that these mannequins are clearly only representative of women. In order to capture the essence of these women, I have to assimilate into the culture and context that they are attached to.
I returned to the store on several occasions to photograph "my girls" in their new outfits. My relationship with them grew stronger and we seemed to have great chemistry while working together. They are the faces on the frontier of fashion that evokes urban sophistication. They are the art work, the beauty and inspiration, and I am simply the lens. They are owned by all of us; they are all of our property because they reflect the popular ideal. I consider these models as part of our modern urban landscape, therefore they are "our girls". Our girls are sophisticated, elite and independently driven power grabbers. Upon my return to Canada, I began collecting mannequins and placing them in urban and social space. This on-going series has provoked an intriguing question- are the mannequins set up to mimic us, or are we wetting ourselves up to mimic the mannequins? By exploring the relationship of self to the real, I find an on-going narrative regarding the humanity of these inanimate objects.
Blog: mygirlsinfo.blogspot.com