I’ve been reading British Folk Art, the publication accompanying the eponymous exhibition at Tate Britain. It set me thinking about a hierarchy of figures within which shop mannequins might fit. The ranking could go something like: art sculpture – funary figures – caryatids – ships’ figureheads – trade signs – puppets – artists’ models – shop dummies – toys – and so on. The mass produced silent figures gracing high street shops are in the lower orders.
Photo: Sussex Street, Cambridge, September 2014