Inside a sex doll factory: A look at the eerily lifelike faces and bodies before they are assembled into $7,000 silicone 'companions'



A photographer has captured an eerie series of images depicting the factory production of life-size silicone sex dolls.



Zackary Canepari 's photo project, Love Machines, shows the Real Dolls' scarily lifelike faces and bodies in various states of production inside a San Marcos, California factory called Abyss Creations.

Each of the Real Dolls, which cost around $7,000, are customized to suit customers' fantasies.



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Eerie: Photographer Zackary Canepari's series, called Love Machines, shows sex dolls in various states of production inside a San Marcos, California factory called Abyss Creations

Custom-made: Each of the life-size silicone Real Dolls, which cost around $7,000, are tailored to suit customers' fantasies

In conjunction with his revealing photo project, Mr Canepari and fellow filmmaker Drea Cooper delved into the mind of Matt McMullen, the sculptor in charge of creating these 'women'.

A video interview with Mr McMullen shows him at work in the factory, as he explains how he ended up in his chosen career path.

'I think artists as a whole have this sort of weird thing where you're just driven to do something,' he says.



'I was always driven to sculpt females, and it just evolved. This was. . .the logical progression of what I wanted to do with my artistic abilities and my desire to create.'

While the sculptor has made a living creating the life-size dolls, it wasn't a hobby that was always seen as welcome in his family.

Disembodied: One of Mr Canepari's somewhat macabre images shows two seemingly misplaced doll heads sitting at the bottom of a cardboard box, donning full faces of make-up

Made to order: Another behind-the-scenes photo shows several doll bodies dangling alongside each other, with various breast sizes, body shapes and 'skin' colors 'I've always been sort of a recluse,' he says in the video, as he sculpts a pair of realistic looking breasts. 'So I spent a lot of the time in the garage by myself.. . . I would [show my family] what I was doing, and they all thought I was weird,' he adds. Despite his family's disapproval, Mr McMullen embarked on his first project, which he intended to be 'a really cool mannequin for display'. He says he wanted this doll to be 'st epping outside the bonds of your traditional mannequin which tends to be very supermodel-esque. I wanted to do something with some sexy curves.'

Scary: A headless and unclothed doll dangles in front of a dark background, reaching out in front of her

Ambition: Matt McMullen, who sculpts the dolls, originally wanted to make a mannequin that '[stepped] outside the bonds of your traditional mannequin, which tends to be very supermodel-esque'





In one of Mr Canepari's more ominous images from inside the factory, several doll bodies dangle alongside each other, with various breast sizes, body shapes and 'skin' colors. When Mr McMullen created early prototypes and shared them online, he received a flurry of people asking if the dolls were 'anatomically correct', and if so, if they could be ordered. 'I wanted to step outside the bonds of traditional mannequins, which tend to be very supermodel-esque' 'I realized early on that this was probably the direction that this was going to go,' he admits. 'And I just went with it.'

For the next batch of mannequins, he added in 'obvious parts'.

'And there you go, the first Real Doll was born,' he explains. Mr Canepari's somewhat macabre images from the factory show faceless dolls hanging nude from the ceiling. Popular: When Mr McMullen created early prototypes of the doll and shared them online, he received a flurry of people asking if the dolls were 'anatomically correct', and if so, if they could be ordered

Strange hobby: 'I spent a lot of the time in the garage by myself,' Mr McMullen said of his childhood. 'I would [show my family] what I was doing, and they all thought I was weird'

In one, a headless and unclothed doll dangles in front of a dark background, reaching out in front of her. Another photo shows two seemingly misplaced doll heads sitting at the bottom of a cardboard box, donning full faces of make-up. 'This is not something you just kick under the bed. It becomes a personality, a presence in the home' Despite the bizarre nature of his work, Mr McMullen makes a point of not judging those who purchase his dolls, no matter what their lifestyle choices are.

In the video, he recalls one customer who lived in the middle of nowhere in Alaska, and 'had no companionship whatsoever. 'They had to bring this doll out in this large, coffin-like box,' he says. 'But he loved it. He said it really took away the edge off of his loneliness and being alone out there.'

From mannequin to sex doll: 'I realized early on that this was probably the direction that this was going to go,' the sculptor said of his hobby. 'And I just went with it'

To each their own: Despite the bizarre nature of his work, Mr McMullen makes a point of not judging those who purchase his dolls, no matter what their lifestyle choices are

Indeed, he claims that Real Dolls are not just sex toys. ' It's way more than that,' he says.

'Number one, not everybody has the degree of care and respect that it takes to actually own one of these dolls. This is not something that you just kick under your bed,' he explains.

'They invest months and months into the planning of what the doll is going to look like, they give her a name, they'll set up a little closet or space to store the doll, and it becomes a personality. It becomes a presence in their home.

'And I'm not going to judge, nor do I think anyone else should judge them for that.'