The Absurd Mannequin Project
12 mannequins. One farm attic. A very questionable backstory
We found 12 wooden artist mannequins tucked away in a farm attic. Which immediately made us wonder:
What on earth had these tiny wooden people been doing up there? Were they holding secret meetings? Running an underground society? Planning their escape?
Did one of them have a tiny clipboard and a very serious job? Obviously, we needed answers. And that is how
The Absurd Mannequin Project was born.
But here’s the important part:
You do not have to answer that question.
The attic story is just where our curiosity started.
Yours can go absolutely anywhere.
“BUT I’M NOT AN ARTIST.”
Great.
You do not need an art degree, a studio practice, or even a clear idea before you start. You just need to be curious enough to take the mannequin somewhere. Maybe you sew it a ridiculous outfit. Crochet a giant headpiece for it. Build it a miniature room. Turn it into a tiny cryptid. Make removable armor from cardboard. Create a wig from yarn. Give it wings made from old book pages. Build it a chair that is far too fancy for its little wooden butt.
Wrap it in fabric. Beads. Wire. Paper. Found objects. Thrift-store treasures. Junk-drawer nonsense.
Give it props, furniture, a vehicle, a pet, a whole environment, or one single strange detail that changes everything.
Maybe you are someone who makes things all the time. Maybe you saw “12 mannequins found in a farm attic” and immediately had an idea that makes absolutely no sense to anyone else.
Both people belong here.
THEN WE’RE PUTTING THEM OUT IN THE WORLD.
Once all 12 mannequins have been transformed, we’re bringing them back together for a public art scavenger hunt in Ogden. Each mannequin will be displayed somewhere in the community, and we’ll create a map so people can go looking for the whole collection.
Part public art project. Part scavenger hunt.
Part excuse to send twelve very strange little wooden humans back out into society.
Honestly, it feels only fair after however long they spent hiding in that attic.
ONE LITTLE CATCH
These mannequins are borrowed, so our tiny wooden friends need to survive the experience.
Whatever you make needs to be removable when the project is over.
Think:
On it. Around it. Worn by it. Held by it. Built for it. Attached to it.
Just not permanently done to it.
So no painting directly onto the wood, permanent glue, drilling, carving, burning, cutting, or anything else that would keep our mannequin from eventually returning to its original little naked wooden self.
Beyond that?
Please get weird.
THERE ARE ONLY 12.
Which means there are only 12 spots in this project.
Participation is $20.
Your registration reserves one borrowed mannequin for you to transform and includes your participation in the final public project.
Spots are first come, first served.
Once all twelve mannequins have found their humans, registration closes.
WANT ONE?
If your brain has already started wandering somewhere strange, that is probably a good sign.
Make things. Try things. Make a mess.
Inspire Play Collective