loud silence

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i took these photos in kingston. red back ground is an ikea chair. it had a nice grainy red cover. i was holding a spoon with my left hand while i was taking photos. the head fitted perfectly to the spoon. it looked delicious. “don’t eat me” one was kind of an accident - a happy accident. i was moving the spoon and the head moved at the same time. he looked real shy, which i like.

postcards of these images are available on my online SHOP.

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postcard of this photo is available in my online SHOP.

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as long as they’re detached…

postcards of this photo is available in my online SHOP.

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“every object has a soul. they can’t talk but they can feel. if you speak to them wordlessly, they understand.”

that’s what my grandmother used to tell me.

these dolls don’t talk. they don’t change expressions. their faces are fixed, artificial. but by varying their positions - angles and spaces, distance and depth - their feelings come to surface. the eyes start to talk. they express emotion, just for a moment.

and i wait for that moment, when i can catch what they’re trying to say. their silent language is like any other: full of everyday trivialities that conceal darker, complex truths. because they lack the protection of words, they are both more eloquent and more defenceless than we are - they reveal everything. their faces never change, so their moods are unmistakeable. and the spaces they leave between themselves are full of tension, and possibility.

voiceless; therefore powerful. silence is a weapon.

postcards of this photo are available in my online SHOP.

きょうも　わたしと　おどって

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i counted. i have 36 of the same plastic doctor dolls. they’re each about 30cm tall, and their heads come off. they’re incredibly handsome. some people ask me if they are barbie’s boyfriend, ken. actually, they’re emergency doctor dolls that i found at a fancy $1 store in kingston, the one with the big red sign (now closed, says my insider information).

the doctor dolls came in plastic packages. they were nonchalantly hanging from the shelf. i instantly fell in love with them. so i bought three doctor dolls as well as two nurse dolls (like this one). when i got home, i regretted not buying more. i thought they’d all be sold by the next day, since i was worried everyone might find them attractive. at the dollar store, once it’s gone, it’s gone.

so i went back right after work. there were still 5 dolls left! that still wasn’t enough, so i asked the clerk to look in the back. she found a whole box. i bought them all.

on the way home, i ran into an acquaintance, a medical student. i was carrying a big plastic bag full of those doctor dolls and i had to try to have a normal conversation with him. “how was school?”, etc. i tried not to draw attention to the dolls, but it was impossible — the bag was too big. he asked me, “what’s in the bag?” i told him, “these are the doctor dolls i bought at the dollar store. they were so handsome i had to buy them all.” he said, “that’s great”, but he was smiling nervously.