Tag Archives: toy photography

Do you know the Nordic Model HARMS sworkers? Decrim NOW.

International Sex Workers Day action figure diorama by Suzanne Forbes June 2 2021 decrim nowMany people are unaware that the so-called “Nordic Model” is actively harmful and dangerous to humans whose business is sex.

What workers actually want is decriminalisation, known as Decrim for short.

International Sex Workers Day action figure diorama by Suzanne Forbes June 2 2021 As we celebrate International Sex Worker’s Day, let’s remember that the lived experience of workers is the ultimate authority on what workers need.

The red umbrella is the symbol of support for sex workers. I bought tiny red umbrella earrings and a pretty new red dress in case I was able to go to marches this year, but I am only a few days out from my second vaccine shot, and feeling pretty unwell.

International Sex Workers Day action figure diorama by Suzanne Forbes June 2 2021 detailSo I made these photos instead.

Follow some Decrim groups here, here and here. Lots of Berlin sw orgs tagged in this post, give ’em a follow! A huge event coming up on June 17-19 is the Black Sx Workers’ Conference from the Black Sx Worker Collective.

I am incredibly grateful to my Patreon Patrons, whose monthly financial support makes it possible for me work safely at home.

These photos are licensed Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) for all to share and enjoy!

Guest artist: the incredible doll art of Dollicious Life by Tinu!

Dollicious Life Asians for BLM Juneteenth 2020I recently discovered the work of Tinu, creator of Dollicious Life, on Instagram.

Dollicious life family at prayerIt was a #toyphotography hashtag that led me to Tinu’s amazing doll photographs.

And I was blown away!

You have got to see Tinu’s powerful and beautiful images using dolls as storytelling, as well as her charming videos with her gorgeous kids and doll collection!

This lovely scene of a family at prayer was created for the world’s first social distancing Ramadan.

The doll clothes were made by OMODE, a bespoke clothing company for ladies and kids, with many beautiful African prints.

Here is Tinu’s introduction from the #CollectionVsCollector challenge that’s going around:

I’m Tinu, publisher & editor, mother of 2 living in NYC. I’ve been collecting dolls since the late 90s as a young girl. Now housing over 300 vintage Barbie, Cissy, Blythe, Erte, Integrity Toys, Franklin Mint, etc in storage and only just now slowly starting to bring them out to play with my kids regardless of value.

Watching my 2yr old daughter’s reaction during unboxing is priceless! (You can see videos in the YouTube link on my profile page.) I love taking pics using outdoors, real life. Welcome to my happy place! So buckle up, it’s going to be one fantasy ride of art imitating life here!

The tender scene below shows the Hameed family leaving the hospital with a newborn.

Dollicious life Hameed family leaving hospitalTinu’s signature as a fashion doll photographer is using real backgrounds, made by placing the dolls in front of the real place!

And as a native New Yorker, she uses the city as a backdrop!

Her doll pictures in the last months include protest art, with photographs of her dolls she took while joining the protests in midtown.

She describes Dollicious Life as “the place where art imitates life”, and says she uses her dolls to teach her kids about the world.

The scenes she creates are warm and inclusive, a hopeful vision of human connection.

Dollicious life pride june 2020I love the family dinners and Pride pictures, which show gatherings of stylish folks.

Dollicious Life Moms 2020Her dolls are responsible and have tiny masks!

The scenes include cancer survivors and breastfeeding.

I also really value the education about traditional African fashion Tinu’s work provides, like this scene with Yoruba attire and this king in Ghanaian Kente style.

Tinu is a serious lifelong fashion doll collector (although now she lets her two-year-old open valuable boxed dolls!) and through her I learned about the fantastic doll company Integrity Toys, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.
Tinu twinning in Ndebele for Human Rights Day by Dollicious Life March 2020

Dolls have tremendous intrinsic energy, and using them for education is powerful.

I hope you’ll follow Tinu on Instagram or Youtube and see what stories her dolls have to tell.

Dollicious Life Juneteenth Black Lives Matter art by Tinu

You can also read Tinu’s reporting on New York protests here and see her coverage of the NYC Juneteenth events here.

NYC protest by Tinu June 2020Plus, check out her coverage of last year’s events like Curl Fest, Afropunk and Pride!

Tinu’s beautiful Sisterhood in White video:

Tinu’s Black History Month doll unboxing with her daughter!