Wannabe

Societies are polyhedral realities, so in order to address its most fundamental issues, a deep look like that of photographer Elisa González Miralles is necessary.

In her work, she explores issues related to social pressure, stereotypes, identity building and objectification, from a feminist perspective. The starting point for her project Wannabe are the so-called Japanese baby dolls, eerily realistic luxurious sexual dolls that look like real women. Her photographs also show women who look like dolls, an idea that is as disturbing as the previous one. The unconscious of women is also represented as a globe fish, a poisonous species which can slowly paralyze the muscles of a person’s body and cause death by asphyxia.

This is a metaphor for the roles we unconsciously play in society. In particular, of course, the roles of women.

Miralles’ work raises many questions to the viewer, who sometimes cannot tell whether the image he or she is looking at is that of a woman or a doll.

To be able to photograph these baby dolls, Miralles visited an exhibition in Tokyo where, paradoxically, women were not permitted to enter unless they were accompanied by a man who spoke Japanese.