Dolls, mannequins and other human simulacra have captivated my attention since childhood. I can vividly remember playing with dolls, action and Lego figures as a child. For a brief period, around the age of eleven, a friend gave me a few Lego people that I comfortingly carried around in my pocket for several months.
As an adult, I have a much more unsettled relationship with human simulacra. There is a troubling lack of physical diversity in mannequins, dolls, children’s book illustrations, video games and other media.
The somatic homogeneity, the lack of facial expression and the misrepresenting use of physical symmetry is very bothersome. Humans come in all colors shapes and sizes, make a multitude of expressions and grow older. Why do we continue to create such homogenous simulacra (except for special occasions and celebrations) for play and commerce?
