Project:

The Mannequin Proposal, Maremagnum, Barcelona, November-December 2005. .

Client:

Niall O'Flynn, Design Studio, Barcelona.

Brief:

Commission from Barcelona based designer Niall O’Flynn to develop an art installation proposal as part of a larger renovation project for the shopping centre MareMagnum. Create an installation based on the human form that is visually attractive, draws people towards the shopping centre + directs them through the space.

Process:

Incorporate various key aspects of MareMagnum including fashion, people, families, public space + location. Connect with the centre’s Barcelona identity. Take old mannequins + give them new life by repositioning them to echo the behaviour of people + workers in MareMagnum. Create characters through external colour + pattern.

The mannequins express individual personalities through their own skin. They are brightly coloured + richly decorated with textile prints, which they wear like elaborate tattoos. They belong to the same tribe, but all have their own style. On a basic level they will create great interest + of course Kodak moments with people posing along side them for photos.

Deeper connotations include questions of idealism + realism, references to cultural or racial difference, identification, assimilation, confrontation, tolerance, the foreign + the familiar.

Result:

The mannequins are workers just like any other in the shopping centre. They go to + from work each day, have lunch breaks, cigarette breaks + they visit with their partners or children on their days off. The mannequins, like anyone, have their own lives outside work + can be quite different people in their spare time. Outside work Mannequins do not wear their usual uniform nakedness.

This is Paco: He is a metrosexual young guy who works normally in Desigual. He attracts lots of attention with his stunning good looks. He’s a strong guy, but doesn‘t mind showing his feminine side. Paco loves fashion and is always up with the latest trends. He often comes to Maremagnum on his days off. He likes to check out the other shops which he doesn’t have time to see while he’s working.