News from Billy Monday
Tiana and ClaireThe Mannequin Series
I think it was at least two years ago that I purchased a mannequin from EBay. The thinking was that I would use the mannequin for lighting experiments and general weirdness. Upon unpacking the doll I thought that it would be fun to put her in my young daughter’s room as a surprise. Big mistake.
So now I’m setting aside money for my daughter’s future psychotherapy. Suffice it to say that a life sized, unnatural looking plastic creature is more than a little scary to a small child. Who would have thought?
We kept the mannequin around for a while, since she seemed less intimidating when disassembled. As a device for lighting experimentation, she was not very useful. Her “skin” is way too shiny. I grew bored with her. Then I was inspired to use her in a series of shoots, which kept me off the streets for the entire winter.
She never did have a name. On the last shoot, Tiana Hunter (my human model) decided the mannequin should be named “Claire”. It seemed to fit. She’s kind of haughty looking (Claire, not Tiana) and has a kind of “Claire” feel to her. I gave Claire to the guys at Sly Horse Studio, where she will find a good home. I hope for her sake that she doesn’t end up in a twisted art project but even that would be better than sitting in a box in my garage, right?
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