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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Twenty Four: The Workplace -- essence of a culture > Shop window, Guilin, China, 2006
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07-APR-2006

Shop window, Guilin, China, 2006

The woman who cleans this window is thorough and precise, creating a clear showcase for the mannequin watching every move she makes. The incongruity of live and artificial figures sharing the space dominates the image, yet the human value of caring comes through as well. Window cleaning is part of her job – she may rather be somewhere else at the moment, but there are no complaints in her eyes. She was so engrossed in her work that she never noticed me photographing her from only a short distance away.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30
1/40s f/3.7 at 88.8mm iso100 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time07-Apr-2005 00:17:34
MakePanasonic
ModelDMC-FZ30
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length88.8 mm
Exposure Time1/40 sec
Aperturef/3.7
ISO Equivalent100
Exposure Bias
White Balance (10)
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality (6)
Exposure Programprogram (2)
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis12-Nov-2006 19:29
Thanks, Theodore -- I try, with each image to make a statement, and then let the viewer interpret it as they wish.
Guest 12-Nov-2006 13:07
Wonderfully stated.
Phil Douglis31-Jul-2006 04:56
The live woman is much more beautiful than the mannequin, Christine. She is full of life. She has feelings. Vitality is always more beautiful because it is real. I am sure you will agree. Thanks for the thought.
Christine P. Newman31-Jul-2006 04:40
My first impression was the same as Kal. The Chinese woman versus the Caucasian mannekin - and I was surprised that I first was thinking that the live model is so much more beautiful than the mannekin.
Phil Douglis08-Jul-2006 01:26
You are the first to speak of the mannequin's haughty smile, Armin. A glimmer of condescension, perhaps? If we read that into this image, everything changes. It comes down a silent clash of wills. Thanks for the thought. It shows us how large meanings can pivot on small details.
arminb08-Jul-2006 00:04
...and the mannequin smiles at her effords, splendid juxtaposition ...reaching her arm to help her... just my type of shot, wonderful! Or is she showing her the spots she missed so far... ahhh, I could go on and on :)
Phil Douglis20-Jun-2006 04:44
You are right, Barri -- her detachment haunts me every time I come back to this image. Perhaps you are correct in assuming that she does not really care, which should make us care all the more. Kal feels that she is absorbed by her dreams, Carol says she is consumed with doing a good job, and Tim finds her in shackles. Now you tell us she is simply detached from it all. Each of us views her through our own prism. Thanks for adding still another layer of possibilities here, Barri.
Barri Olson20-Jun-2006 02:34
I can see the incongruity here, which seems on many levels...but I think what captivates me is the seeming detachment of the woman, making the mannequin and the woman connect in a strange sort of way. Maybe it makes that "slave to a dream" all the more poingiant.
Phil Douglis19-Apr-2006 21:55
Thanks, Carol and Tim, for adding to this discussion. Carol sums up what is really happening in this image, while Tim adds another level of meaning here. I like the idea of the symbolic difference of clothing defining the difference between workers and shoppers. Thanks to you both for these contributions.
Tim May19-Apr-2006 18:35
Continuing with the "slave to a dream" theme - the real human is so modestly dresses - the proper worker - yet the alluring clothes on the mannequin are so different from hers. The workers are kept in their places, and the shoppers can fly free.
Phil Douglis18-Apr-2006 17:40
I noticed the caucasian featured mannequin right away, and I saw the potential for the "slave to a dream" theme you mention as as well. But the ultimate irony for me is the surreal illusion of this beautiful human being working for the robotic mannequin who seems to take her strenuous efforts for granted. Thanks, Kal, for offering us food for thought.
Kal Khogali18-Apr-2006 14:23
Funny what catches our eye Phil...for me the greatest symbol here is the one most foreigners in China don't notice, becasue they are used to seeing it back home...the mannekin has caucasian features. The Chinese lady cleaning is a slave to the dream looking down on her...she aspires, and she dreams...that's why she doesn't notice you...Powerful. K
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