Silicone Doll Becomes the Most Ideal ＂Lover＂: Anti Utopian Love Ideal

For more and more online shopping users, silicone dolls have become their most ideal "lovers". With the continuous development of the physical doll industry, people began to talk about anti Utopian love ideals, which are reflected in the widespread social loneliness and technological progress.

 

There is no so-called "perfect partner", but in terms of the aesthetic standards of some groups, the physical doll is very close to the imagined other half. Indeed, they are lifeless and senseless, which is not the most suitable choice for most people, but it seems to be a perfect match for a large number of consumers growing rapidly in the adult products industry with tens of billions of dollars.

 

Over the past three decades, inflatable dolls, physical dolls or companion robots have risen and fallen in the public eye. In 2018, the BBC's documentary "We and the Companion Robot" revealed the huge technological progress in the manufacturing of physical dolls since the company's investigative program "Red Men and Green Women" was broadcast in 2002. The appearance and touch of the doll are more realistic than ever, from facial details to private parts.

 

With the continuous prosperity of this industry, a large number of enterprises with physical dolls have emerged. The moral impact of this strange relationship is increasingly questioned, and the foul words that fill all corners of the Internet are a big problem. Some people say, "You won't hear a physical doll say 'no', it will do everything you want." The dominant emotion is a kind of submission and materialization, which comes from the extreme crowd to these silent and obedient dolls.

 

After the famous "Metoo" movement, women are encouraged to speak out their ideas boldly in a global scale. In the tide of not being oppressed, the silent obedience of physical dolls is at least disturbing. But every story has two sides. This industry is born of loneliness and all of us are born with a desire for attention, love and intimacy. This is a sad expression of a society that relies on the Internet and lacks social interaction. The optimistic view is that the increase in sales of physical dolls is related to the decline in crime and abuse rates. However, like many black mirror type technological innovations today, the problem of physical dolls is multi-layered and divided.

 

This complex duality is the theme of the physical doll. On the one hand, they have strange static and lingering emptiness; On the other hand, they are the increasingly lonely entity embodiment of society. Through the display of lifeless "human nature", they reflect the real situation of modern life. This is an anti Utopian concept, which is both real and fictional. In the debate about physical dolls, we discussed their work, the decline of interpersonal relationships in real life and the isolation of society through a return visit to customers.

 

How did you first learn about physical dolls?

 

The first time I knew about physical dolls was in the 1990s. I read and did some research on some websites on the Internet, and found some photos of baby friends by chance. I want to have one, but I can't afford it. I was only in my 20s at that time, and the economic situation has not stabilized. Finally, I bought a doll in a few years, and I was obsessed with shooting them.

 

Why do these lifeless "lives" attract you so much?

 

I guess this is because dolls are a part of many children's lives, and my childhood is no exception. I am an only child, raised by a single mother, accompanied by a doll, which allows me to escape from my poor environment. If you think about it carefully, this is the first way for children to learn to use their imagination and project their fabricated stories onto dolls. So in my world, it seems a natural process to use them as tools to tell stories.

 

What's your first feeling when you see a real doll?

 

When the first doll arrived, I was shocked by its reality. I thought I was a collector of all kinds of dolls, and I also kept some childhood dolls.

 

Childhood and adults have very different ways of "playing", but there are many similarities in fantasy. Why do dolls play an important role in the projection of fantasy?

 

For me, growing up is a strange time. My parents divorced when I was a child. My father was a serious alcoholic. In order to support me, he often left me at the neighbor's house when he worked. When I was young, I encountered many terrible things. Through my dolls, I lived a very rich fantasy life. They are my way of escape and my way of treatment.

 

For many people, physical dolls also seem to have therapeutic effects. They regard them as partners and lovers, not just sexual objects. Do you know any other friends? What do you think of this industry?

 

I know many baby friends, male and female. One thing they have in common with dolls is creativity. There seems to be a lot of work in music and art. If you want to hear tear jerking stories, there are also many lonely people. I dare say that with the increasing intelligence and modernization, most people in the society are lonely.

 

This industry has grasped these cultural conditions, which reflect many situations in contemporary society. If you asked me this question ten years ago, I would say that the physical doll was made to realize an ideal or perfect concept. But now there are so many kinds of dolls. I can't say that anymore. People increasingly want a doll that looks like a person instead of idealizing them.

 

If there is no need for companionship, the doll will not integrate into the society at the current speed. As a modern society, we have gradually weakened the interaction between people, which is self inflicted. On the contrary, we choose to stare at mobile phones and computers, which is really sad. But I am married, so I can contact my other half every day. I think I am lucky.

 

What was the process of shooting the doll? How to arrange the welcome and determine the personality of each doll?

 

Shooting dolls is a multi-step process, different from each other. I usually work alone, and it takes me several weeks to set up a shooting scene. First is the actual idea, and then is the feasibility of finding or building a site; Then I choose these dolls. They have no name or background story. They are just actors in my image world.

 

What is the response of the works taken?

 

People's reaction to my work varies from person to person. In most cases, the reaction is extreme, and many people will not show it. When I was shooting real dolls in the early days, I often met with situations that I was offended. But with the increasing mainstream of robots and artificial intelligence, more and more people have fun from it.





--Reprinted from the public account: Entity doll combat experience