Reflecting upon research, I began circling around the idea of using mannequins - initially, simply for their ominous look. I began to search the internet for reasonably priced mannequins and it was during this planning I stumbled across the work of Paolo Ventura, who would use dolls and actors to create strange yet theatrical scenes. The images struck me as eerie, as well as artistic - which in turn reminded me of the work of Loretta Lux, with subtle manipulation to create beautiful yet unnerving subjects.
I eventually stumbled across a company (based in Nottinghamshire) that took in mannequin by load and sold them on, either in usable condition or separate/broken body parts.
Subtle manipulation will come into play with later experiments, for now I have started with photographing the mannequins in an environment unusual to where usually placed; placing and composing in play with the surroundings.
Right from the start the mannequins proved challenging to stand up, originally this photograph was set up so that each were in a standing position. I do prefer this outcome though, as if each has its own path/story. There are a multitude of stories which could be imagined from this photograph, so I'll leave that for the viewer to decide.
I enjoyed photographing the legs purely for their comic value. The white complexion completely clashes with the green surroundings, teamed with this random set of legs sprouting out of the soil. A tad strange.
Originally I wanted to have these legs on top of the structure, but didn't have the means to do so. I could try returning with a ladder and some assistance.
There were many long paths covered by a canopy of trees, creating some possible stage I could use. Yet again the mannequins proved difficult to stand up, but it resulted in these images.
I have a number of heads which I aimed to use, for this I wanted to try to dot them around randomly. I believe the images came out somewhat fine… but perhaps hold less impact. The light in this set-up doesn't help, it would've been ideal if the streams of light breaking through the trees were to hit each face.
As with the two images above, I found using different depths within the frame makes a more profound theatrical image, the frame becomes more like a stage. Here the light highlights the furthest mannequin, leading our eye to its direction.
Above images: Experimenting with composition.
Hiding places were fun to find, and strange to look at when a mannequin is squashed inside one. I particularly enjoy the image where the walker is in frame, from my own point of view it really brought in the "hide-and-seek" feel, which was turned eerie with this semi-limbless, lifeless body of a child.
Certain areas had beautiful natural light, almost cinematic in the few images above. Yet again, the whole cinematic feel is thrown off by this surreal, headless body in this beautiful setting.
Another try for a possible comical shot, perhaps just surreal - perhaps both.
Towards the end of this particular trip I was starting to become tired and careless with my shots, so whilst shooting I accidentally caught into frame the suitcase of mannequin "body parts" I was dragging around with me. I think it creates yet another strange story, the one I was actually a part of - dragging limbless mannequins/body parts around a forest and shoving them into trees.
A strange outcome of this particular outing was stumbling across the phenomenon of the lost-items-hung-in-obvious-places, so the owner may possibly come back to find it. It was a small brown shoe sticking out of a tree and I took note it may possibly fit one of my mannequins. It did (just), so I kept it.
I wanted to find a pond/puddle to centre something in, as if it was rising out the water.
An idea was to have smoke emitting out of the holes of my mannequins (using incense sticks) to create some sort of eerie image, however attempting this outside proved challenging even with a slight breeze. The photographs still came out well however.
