The Unicorn in the Bathtub — and Other Mind-Blowing Sights

Almost everybody has worn a costume at some point in their lives. For Halloween, a school play or just make-believe around the house. But for others, it's an every-weekend thing.

For these costume enthusiasts, there are numerous communities. Cosplay followers dress up as characters from comics, anime, video games and film; LARPers (live action role players) get together to perform fantasy scenarios dressed up as cowboys, knights or other characters; furries wear furry animal suits for fun; and so on.

But most costume fans have normal day jobs, families and homes in which they put on regular clothes to cook dinner and watch TV. Looking to capture this strange world and the people behind it, photographer Klaus Pichler took photos of costume wearers in full regalia in their most revealing of spaces: their homes.

Pichler spent three years taking photographs for the series, titled "Just the Two of Us." He spent most of that time "researching people or communities with interesting costumes," he says. "Quite hard work."

This homeowner created a custom Cookie Monster costume for a private Carnival celebration.


Cosplay ("costume" plus "play") is a Japanese-rooted practice; its followers portray characters from Japanese comics (manga), cartoons (anime) and films. This handmade cosplayer costume depicts Jaken, a character from the InuYasha manga series by Rumiko Takahashi.


Star Wars is perhaps one of the most-loved sources of muses for costume adopters. The 501st Legion is the official worldwide Star Wars fan club, founded in 1997 and based on George Lucas' film series. Here a young Stormtrooper sits in a living room.


Meanwhile, Boba Fett spins a DJ set at home.

Pichler says he chose not to reveal any personal information about the people other than what's shown in their homes. "I consciously decided to depict the persons in a way that the civic identities disappear behind the mask," he says. "I tried to create a special kind of tension that's linked to the refusal of answering the crucial question, Who is the person behind the mask?"


This man has donned a 65-pound Spartan SPES 256 costume based on the computer game Halo. "Most of the depicted people are like you and me," Pichler says. "They live ordinary lives but have a fable for a certain kind of costume tradition."


In the Central European Advent tradition, Krampus punishes bad children while St. Nicholas rewards good ones. Costume enthusiasts who dress up as them become active on the night of December 5.

"Since this series is about various traditions, the most interesting aspect was to research the different backgrounds, habits and behaviors of every tradition," says Pichler, who grew up in the easygoing countryside of Austria, where "the real adventures had to play in my head, which definitely shaped my imagination that I now use as a photographer," he says.


This mask of this Krampus costume weighs about 22 pounds. Some masks are made from carved wood. Often the suits are made from goat or sheep fur, and the horns come from goats or cattle.

"I have been surprised most by the normality of the homes," Pichler says. "Before starting the series, I expected that I'd get to know a bunch of nerds and geeks, but that did not happen. Same for the homes of the people. In most cases nicely styled flats or houses, of course with some artifacts of the certain tradition that they were a part of, but besides that ordinary homes."


Another Krampus at home.


Carnival of Venice is an annual historic carnival for which devout revelers spend much of the year crafting Venetian costumes. This angel is part of Vienna's biggest Carnival association.

"It has always been a positive surprise that the particular costume fit perfectly to either the whole flat or at least one room of the flat, be it in color or style or even both," Pichler says. "Therefore, the decision where to take the picture was quite obvious in most of the cases."


Once used as the mascot costume for a large consumer brand, this bear costume is now used privately.


A furry is someone with a keen interest in the "humanoid representation of animals in pictures as well as in film and text format," Pichler says in his artist statement. "Furries often view themselves more as animals rather than people. They create an animal alter ego, and their furry existence constitutes their life philosophy."

Here a fursuiter, a subculture of furries, is dressed as a unicorn. His main costume is a tiger. "I like to work on topics that are a little strange, shady, awkward or absurd," Pichler says.


Battle of the Nations is a worldwide competition in which participants practice full-contact combat, Middle Ages–style. This Austrian team member sits in his living room.

"Every picture is equal; it's like having children," Pichler says. "You can't pick a favorite, because you like each and everyone for different reasons."

Photos in the series are for sale through the Anzenberger Agency in Vienna, Austria.

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