The Woman Behind The Mannequins

I recently had an extended conversation with Steve from PhotoGrunt who featured my work on the POE (Photographers Of Etsy) Blog:

Focus On: Eleanors

The Look

Many, if not most or perhaps even all of us strive to comment on the human condition with our art. Some do that by focusing on things humans have built, some by focusing on things humans have cultivated, some by focusing on things humans find beautiful and some by focusing on actual humans.

Then there's Eleanors, a photographer based in Vienna, Austria that focuses on ersatz humans in the form of mannequins. If you haven't seen her work, you're about to.

Steve: Eleanor, there are any number of words that could be used to describe your work: "artful", "edgy", "dark", "macabre", "glamour", "reflective"...these are but a few that came to mind when I thought about it.

What words would you use to describe yourself? ... read more

Underground

Underground No6 (2010)

Being busy with working on film for months prevented me from blogging. Nonetheless I have managed to continue investigating the "underground" of stores searching for currently unemployed mannequins. Luckily I discovered some exciting places.

Today I´ll introduce you to one of these beautiful old basements with raw brick walling. A wonderful contradictory background for it´s attractive residents.

Underground No1 (2010)

Underground No2 (2010)

These mannequins stand out due to long legs and buxom curves. Being undressed their intrinsic postures appear even more bizarre.

Underground No5

Together with their pale companions with heavily made-up eyes this scenery let me think of a secret underground party. I am definitely lucky to have been invited!

Underground No4

Underground No3

I have created a small collection called "Underground" that as from now will be available in my etsy shop.

Pink

Cotton candy, bubble gum, babies, little girls, cute, cozy, romantic, charming, sugar and spice and everything nice. In Western culture these terms are commonly associated with the color pink. Most people still think of pink as a feminine, delicate color.

Did you know that from the 1920s until the 1940s, pink was considered appropriate for boys, while blue was considered appropriate for girls because it was the more delicate and dainty color, or related to the Virgin Mary? Since the 1940s, the social norm apparently inverted, a practice that has continued into the 21st century.

I can´t think of any other color being afflicted with such a variety of connotations ranging from the pink ribbon as the international symbol of breast cancer awareness to the "pink economy" (often used for the gay market).

However it was interesting to create my first photograph displaying the color pink, the "sweet side of red". An image intended to let one´s mind wander. And I actually took a fancy to work on further.

Little Sun

She is born at the beginning of May 2009 in an old barn in a small Hungarian village. As her mother stashes her away for a long time I meet her the first time when she is ten weeks old.



She is terribly shy and hardly dares to come out of the outbuilding where her mother has accommodated her and her four sisters. Still a huge personal curiosity arouses a strong interest in strange creatures like us.





Little Sun is out of the ordinary. Not only her coat looks quite different from the others, but also she is the first one getting in touch with her new housemates. Whenever we are working in the garden she soon comes hurrying along, sitting and watching us curiously. It takes a few weeks, and she approaches to be petted.



She turns out to be a passionate and successful huntress as well as a real tomboy.



Apart from that Little Sun is such a decent young lady. When waiting for breakfast or dinner she´s lying on the stair looking towards the door.



She likes to be with her sisters, and goes her own way nonetheless.



It often occurs that Little Sun is still roaming the neighborhood when her sisters have a rest already.

After her mother separates from her daughters Little Sun turns out to be a real companion. She is the first to welcome us when we arrive from Vienna. Her compelling bright and sensitive nature becomes more and more apparent. As a sign of agreement she is looking straight into your eyes and starts with slowly blinking.

To make their hard life easier all kittens are being spayed at the beginning of November. It´s quite an exhausting experience, and Little Sun defends herself like a real tiger. After the vet has removed the stiches two weeks later we recognize a significant change in the way Little Sun behaves. She doesn´t play with her sisters, she rejects food, she coughs, and her eyes start to water. I consult the vet at once, and we take her to Vienna to care for her.



She is incredible courageous on her first long trip by car, she takes her antibiotics twice every day, and hardly leaves her place to stay. Sometimes she approaches to lie on my desk behind the computer or sit under the desk light in my studio.

The antibiotics don´t help. Whatever we do she´s getting weaker from day to day. After one week it turns out to be a battle of life and death. Little Sun has lost the battle. She died on Sunday, five minutes after I called another vet, at the tender age of seven months.

Last family picture Oct 19th

There is just sadness, and a lot of questions remain.

P.S. Little Sun gets her last home in the garden where she used to be a bright young lady full of beans.

Getting Prepared

I ask him what we have decided last evening. Are we going to lock her up or not? There is no answer. He is in bad mood. When plucking dried herbs I hear the crunching of a door that makes me feel like living in the middle ages. I realize that he is busy with preparing the dungeon. One hour ago I have furnished the box to put her in for transport.


Have you got scary? To be honest, I am! We finally decided to get our semi-feral cats being neutered. The mother cat at first, afterwards the kittens. It´s an awkward situation for both of us. Whereas my husband tends to go through with this as quick as possible without batting an eye, it is my turn to tackle things in a well thought-through manner. Unexperienced in how to deal with pets I am doubtful which kind of handling would be the best, and I change my mind several times. That drives him nuts. He is the one who has to remount the door of an outbuilding, and he is just about to finish the new jail for the poor mother cat.

We already have fixed the surgery, and the vet told us to take away food and water twelve hours before. Not an easy undertaking with a strawing animal! Not being used to stay indoor, we will have to lock her up the whole day. My thoughts are revolving around how she would behave in that situation. Maybe it´s better to find another way to manage it? ...


The next morning the cats are waiting for breakfast in front of the house as usual. My husband puts on his work gloves and approaches the unsuspecting mother. As I am watching the scenery with excitement, he crabs her neck carrying her to the newly-created prison. What a surprise, the cat doesn´t move at all! As soon as she gets locked up I feel guilty, and I have such a pity on her since I was the one who came up with the "neuter project". I am listening, she doesn´t even meow.

Two hours later I call the vet to tell him that we sucessfully caught the cat and locked her up, only to get informed that he will have to cancel the surgery today and doing it on another day next week!

I am really pissed off but also somewhat relieved. I run into the kitchen to prepare a big breakfast which she enjoys. But cats are not silly. The following days she visits us rarely, and whenever she sees my husband with his gloves on she is running away. This time I am not aware of the fact that this is just the beginning of an even bigger challenge.