#10

During my early teens I spent a lot of time on the unregulated, uncensored wilderness that was the internet in 2004/5. I stumbled across and was sent various kinds of media from tentacle erotica to meatspin and leekspin, but what had always stuck in my mind was RealDoll. Even back then, I distinctively remember being enthralled by the breathtaking amount of realism and detail in the dolls, and I’ve never came across anything else quite like it in the years since.

RealDoll is created by Abyss Creations and when I knew I was going to be near their studios in the summer, I had to go and take a look for myself. It felt like a logical step in my research on femininity, figuration, beauty and sculpture. Each doll is painstakingly handmade: a mould is created for medical grade silicon to be poured in, but not before a metal skeleton is placed inside to very precise dimensions so it will sit perfectly within the finished product. The eyeballs are carefully sanded and polished, and for the makeup, each brushstroke is precisely rendered. Sometimes real hair is used for the eyebrows, in which case every single strand is punctured and placed individually.

Thank you so much Abyss RealDoll for your time!

*I’m aware there are some drama surrounding the existence and use of sex dolls, especially with the development of AI, but all I can say is that robots don’t objectify women: people objectify people, and it’s much better to focus on causes rather than symptoms. If you would like a comprehensive discussion on this subject, I’d like to direct you towards this paper by my friend Wilhem Klein who specialises in technology and ethics.