Do Women Dream of Synthetic Kids?

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“They’ll grow up with what the psychologists used to call an ’instinctive’ hatred of books and flowers. Reflexes unalterably conditioned. They’ll be safe from books and botany all their lives.” A. Huxley, Brave New World, 1932

The Reborn are handmade, lifelike baby dolls, produced and collected by over 20,000 women worldwide. The average price is $ 800. They are often used to process grief or to fill the void left by a desired but never-born child. The buyers, the Reborn Mommies, dress and nourish the "kids", wash their hair, walk them in push-chairs and lay them to sleep.

The massive and global sale of fake children for fake mothers poses key questions about the future of mankind. With this work I aim to explore the uncanny imagery of humanoid objects, investigating the seeds of dystopia in our lives. Inspired by the Sci-Fi classics as by the pubescent female dolls created by the German artist Hans Bellmer in the mid 30s, I use the puppet as a prophetic symbol of the contradictions of modernity.

My project is a series of surreal staged photos, envisioned during the conversations I had within the Reborn community met across Europe in 2017-2018. The dolls are shown dismantled and stored in plastic containers, a metaphorical or artificial amniotic sac which shows how human desires can be transformed into market goods. Photography is my tool to interrogate the bewildering reality of a commercialized motherhood, seeking answers to the question “Do women dream of synthetic kids?”.

Name: Barry;
Date of Birth: 16.12.2016;
Time of Birth: 16.59;
Weight: 3524 g.;
Height: 56 cm.;
Eyes: Brown;
Hair: Dark Brown
Name: Kase;
Date of Birth: 13.02.2017;
Time of Birth: 12:05;
Weight: 3250 g.;
Height: 51 cm.;
Eyes: Sleeping;
Hair: Chocolate Brown
Name: Chloe;
Date of Birth: 04.01.2017;
Time of Birth: 20:57;
Weight: 3395 g.;
Height: 57 cm.;
Eyes: Middle Blue;
Hair: Chocolate Brown
Name: Maya;
Date of Birth: 3.12.2016;
Time of Birth: 23:59;
Weight: 2380 g.;
Height: 52 cm.;
Eyes: --;
Hair: Blonde
Name: Timone;
Date of Birth: 25.04.2014;
Time of Birth: 15:12;
Weight: 4500 g.;
Height: 66 cm.;
Eyes: Brown;
Hair: --
Name: Emma;
Date of Birth: 31.01.2017;
Time of Birth: 04:30;
Weight: 2100 g.;
Height: 49 cm.;
Eyes: Sleeping;
Hair: Wavy Blonde
Name: Saskia;
Date of Birth: 27.03.2017;
Time of Birth: 11:13;
Weight: 3479 g.;
Height: 58 cm.;
Eyes: Green;
Hair: Black
Name: Mavie II;
Date of Birth: 11.04.2016;
Time of Birth: 11.59;
Weight: 1742 g.;
Height: 42 cm.;
Eyes --;
Hair: Light Brown
Name: Annyta;
Date of Birth: 31-03-2016;
Time of Birth: 12:12;
Weight: 2420 g.;
Height: 52 cm.;
Eyes: Brown;
Hair: Golden Brown
Name: Asher;
Date of Birth: 07.03.2017;
Time of Birth: 20:27;
Weight: 3007 g.;
Height: 52 cm.;
Eyes: Sleeping;
Hair: Light Brown
Name: Maya II;
Date of Birth: 3.12.2016;
Time of Birth: 23:59;
Weight: 2380 g.;
Height: 52 cm.;
Eyes: --;
Hair: Blonde
Name: Liling;
Date of Birth: 15.05.2017;
Time of Birth: 11:51;
Weight: 2898 g.;
Height: 51 cm.;
Eyes: Brown;
Hair: Dark Brown
Name: Mavie;
Date of Birth: 11.04.2016;
Time of Birth: 11.59;
Weight: 1742 g.;
Height: 42 cm.;
Eyes --;
Hair: Light Brown
Name: Chanel;
Date of Birth: 08.08.2016;
Time of Birth: 16:30;
Weight: 2470 g.;
Height: 54 cm.;
Eyes: Light blue;
Hair: Chocolate Brown
Name: Mavie I & Mavie II;
Date of Birth: 11.04.2016;
Time of Birth: 11.59;
Weight: 1742 g.;
Height: 42 cm.;
Eyes --;
Hair: Light Brown