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.