The Abused Mannequins Of The Middle East

Many of you are familiar with my ongoing series Abused Mannequins Of The Middle East. I get such great feedback — people send me photos of mannequins in, shall we say, precarious positions, from all around the world. I absolutely love it, keep them coming!

My obsession started when I first came to Turkey during a family trip, over twenty years ago. Not only did the country draw me in with its old and new world charm, but I was immediately attracted to the way the human form was on display. Mannequins were manipulated in ways that I just hadn’t seen before, almost artistically arranged in odd and awesome ways. I wondered if there was intention behind the way the mannequins were displayed. I saw scantily clad, overly made up, chipped, broken, blanked stared, bizarrely disfigured, and discarded limbs just strewn about. I loved it.   

My curiosity only grew when I officially moved to Cairo more than ten years ago. I have been documenting mannequins over the Middle East since. More than not, the mannequins I have encountered in Middle Eastern countries have been to me a work of art. The dichotomy of how these mannequins are displayed in such conservative countries has been a mixture of both amusement and bewilderment.  

Since living in Istanbul, I’ve amassed many colorful images, that I hope to turn into a book in the future (Kickstarter campaign worthy??). I found Turkey to be the place where  the most concentrated population of abused mannequins congregate.

I get such a kick out of the photos people send over, and their own mannequin sightings. It might seem like a bizarre concept to bond over, but it’s such a unique way to make sense out of foreign surroundings. 

If you aren’t already following me on Instagram, please stop by and say hi! And if you have any ‘Abused Mannequins’ of your own tag me in your photo!