World Dream Atlas

« My mother believed that everybody should own a collection, and she decided for me, at age 11, that I should collect miniature porcelain shoes. My mother was not very attentive or nurturing, so the fact that she even thought to assign a collection for me – I was delighted. She bought me my first pair in 1972, and since then, I’ve accumulated hundreds. I have this theory that we all have duplicates. Somewhere in your life, you’re going to meet a woman who is just like me. She may or may not be Turkish, but she’s going to look and sound like me, and you’re going to think we’re like mannequins from the same factory. She may be painted blond with blue eyeballs, but she will be me. Shoes are the same way. I love finding shoes that are obviously from the same mold, but in different places, and painted differently. My recurring dream is that I’m in some interesting city far from home. I find this old storefront. It’s tiled with a curved window, and it’s so dusty that I can barely see inside. When I press my face against the glass however, I can see that it’s full of knickknacks – and there is always the most exquisite pair of miniature shoes. I have to buy those shoes! At this point, the story takes different lines. Either the store is closed, or it’s open and I have no money, or the man looks and looks and looks but he can’t find the shoes in the window. The story always ends in heartbreak. I’m sure a psychologist could have a field day out of why, even in my dreams, I never allow myself that exquisite pair of miniature shoes. »

— Austin, Texas