Sometimes, one stumbles upon cherished treasures or enigmatic mysteries without intending to do so. John Maloof, for example, came across the extensive body of work of Vivian Maier, an unassuming nanny with a penchant and a talent for street photography, during a thrift auction on Chicago's Northwest Side, an event that allowed her rediscovery.
A similar scenario unfolded for Sébastien Girard in more recent years, even though in his case he found a very different archive. In 2011 a specialist was sent to assess the Barbie dolls and toys of the late collector Tom Wilkins in Boston. However, the toys were not the sole discoveries; amid scale models, dioramas, electric trains, and Barbie dolls, they also found 12 albums of Polaroid pictures that Girard acquired.
All of them were entitled "My TV Girls" and each contained neatly arranged pages, each featuring nine images of women - some of them unknown, others famous actresses from TV shows and films. Quite often they were pictured in various states of undress or entirely naked. The images varied from slightly out of focus or subtly erotic to more explicit scenes, such as a woman making love to a topless girl. Some were sourced from pornographic films, while others were from well-known movies, including Barbarella. The author exhibited a particular fascination with women's breasts, evident in pictures of women in bras, bra advertisements, and even a program on mastectomy.
In total, there were 911 meticulously organized Polaroids, each dated, numbered, and captioned by Wilkins who left comments on labels applied to the white margins of the Polaroids. Altogether, Wilkins dedicated 1,248 days between August 1978 and January 1982 to taking these images. The choice of the Polaroid was obvious since, if processed by a laboratory, such images may have lead to inquiries.
The subject matter, theme, precise and rigorous commentary, along with meticulously catalogued images, collectively indicate an obsessive - perhaps even dangerous - mind with a disconcerting hobby, or a man propelled by masculine libido with a preference for women's breasts.
Wilkins never photographed women in the flesh; instead, he focused solely on their image or representation, whether through the TV screen or via mannequins and dolls. He actively engaged indeed also in (sometimes sexual) recreations involving Barbie dolls, both indoors and outdoors.
Similar practices are not unprecedented or unrecorded. The volume titled "Type 42," features images taken from a television (and cinema) screen, portraying actresses or singers like Brigitte Bardot, Françoise Hardy, Romy Schneider, Anouk Aimée, and Sophia Loren, among others. The photographer in this case remained anonymous, leaving the audience uncertain about whether it was a man or a woman. However, Cindy Sherman, in the introduction to the book presenting 120 of these images, described the content as an exhaustive study of what it means to be a woman, as if the photographer were seeking the very essence of femininity.
Concerning the Barbie scenes, another precedent that may be linked to Wilkins is Morton Bartlett who crafted fifteen anatomically correct dolls of children, including twelve prepubescent or physically developing girls that he photographed in various poses or tableaux, sometimes clothed, occasionally nude, with many images carrying an erotically suggestive and profoundly unsettling undertone (View this photo).
Perhaps Sherman's introduction for "Type 42" opens up another interpretation, somewhat supported by a Polaroid that may aid in reinterpreting Wilkins' opus. In a photograph, akin to those in the "My TV Girls" series, Wilkins conceals his face behind the camera and dons a Beautiful Ones Playtex bra (described in a 1981 ad as "delicate, lacy, a little daring (...) feminine" View this photo).
The description on the margin reads: "27 MAR 81 #646. Me wearing 38B Beige Playtex Beautiful Ones lace bra. Photograph was taken using a dressing mirror and an SX70 camera." In this Polaroid Wilkins turns the camera onto himself, capturing an image of his transformed body, imitating the bodies he had previously photographed.According to Girard, the act of cross-dressing becomes the pivotal factor unlocking the truth behind the other images, transforming their meanings. Wilkins posed here as a woman and this revelation prompted Girard to reassess the material and delve into further research.
Born in 1951 and residing in the conservative Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston until his death in 2007, Wilkins, in Girard's perspective, aimed to transcend gender norms paradoxically by utilizing the stereotypes prevalent in society to escape them and define his preferred gender.
In a nutshell, Wilkins documented the image of the desirable woman as dictated by American society, yet simultaneously portrayed his own aspirations, so that the final images of the photographs re-shifts from male voyeurism to the desire for a woman's body.
This interpretation adds an intriguing layer to the work, suggesting a different meaning and forcing a reflection on society and on a man living in a fantasy, unable to freely express his true self and taking refuge behind a series of women seen on TV with which he aimed to identify.
Reportedly, Girard possesses other self-portraits of Tom Wilkins in feminine attire, complete with a bra, panties, and even a sanitary napkin, transitioning from a predator-voyeur to an appropriator, visualizing masculine fantasies and integrating them into his own body. Whether this signifies a search for trans-identity is challenging to ascertain (doubts remain, as among the pictures only one image alludes to transsexuality in a detached way - "2 MAR 1980, #325, off TV, movie. That boy is really a girl").
Girard initiated this exploration in 2011 when he acquired the enigmatic Polaroids, partially published in 2017 under the title "The Diary of Tom Wilkins."
Recently, an exhibition at Parish Photo in November showcased the pages of the albums as meticulously arranged by Wilkins, accompanied by an installation featuring a TV and a Polaroid camera recreating Wilkins' equipment.
Another book, "My TV Girls," in a limited edition of 500 copies, has just been published by Christian Berst Art Brut, the gallery currently showcasing a selection of Wilkins' photographs under the title "Bad Timing" (until 14th January 2024), consisting in a series of images triggered too early or too late, missing the decisive moment, yet Wilkins still decided to keep them.
Maybe in future they will be able to shed more light on deciphering the images behind "My TV Girls" and further details on Wilkins' life.
Yet, Girard faces a caveat: John Maloof's discovery of Vivian Maier brought her work into the international scene and resulted in a complex lawsuit over copyright ownership with distant heirs. Has Girard withheld additional images in anticipation of potential heirs emerging? It remains uncertain. Perhaps, one day, as more portraits will be unveiled, the truth behind Wilkins' enigmatic persona will be fully revealed. Until then, ambiguity prevails, leaving open one question - was he a male voyeur or a man in search of his trans-identity?
Image credits for this post
All images courtesy Christian Berst Art Brut - Sébastien Girard
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