“Bye, Bye, Baby:” Famous, Faceless Babies to Leave Palm Springs for Mexico

Whether you love them, hate them, or are still trying to figure out how you feel about them, the faceless and now famous Palm Springs Babies are saying “bye bye” and “hello” to somewhere a little more tropical.

These babies have been sitting next to the Forever Marilyn statue in the heart of Downtown Palm Springs for almost five years.

They were supposed to be a temporary installation but with construction delays and the pandemic, they made Palm Springs their home.

There are ten babies in total and are about 11 feet long, 9 feet tall and weigh 300 pounds.

But at the end of the month, these babies will crawl their way over to Mexico to be in another exhibit which will run through next January.

With this news, some will be sad (or not) to see these barcode-faced babies disappear from downtown.

“Where are the faces,”  Tommy Bahama Manager Brian Wilson shared. “That is everybody’s question and why are they crawling all over the place? Everybody has the same question. Now with that leaving, I think everyone’s gonna be saying the same thing. Like, okay, they’re leaving, and they’re either sad or happy. It’s something to talk about and that’s what we need in Palm Springs. Keep it fresh.”

And Wilson isn’t wrong.

Everyone has something to say about these peculiar pieces because like most art, their meaning is subjective.

“We have a display there, an artistic display, called the Laughing Buddhas which in some ways, is very representative of what you’ve got going on here,” Visitor Steve Butt said. “So when I look at this, it reminds me of home, Vancouver. I’m trying to interpret what it’s trying to mean. I haven’t quite got there yet. It could well be that it strikes some resonance with when you were a child yourself. When you’re children, those are the times you’re invisible.”

We found out about why their faces are the way they are,” Local Don Kupfer. “So, if you don’t have a social security number or driver’s license, you’re nobody.”

But, will they miss them?

“It’s kind of like Palm Springs,” Kupfer continued.

“I think this would be a nice permanent installation, just like we do in Vancouver,” Butt said.

“People are saying it’s weird. It’s unusual. Never seen a baby without a face and crawling up, you know, a hotel wall or whatever,” Wilson shared. “But it’s something to talk about in Palm Springs. Anything goes. We’re open, but I’m interested to see what’s next.”

For those baby lovers, don’t worry!

The babies are leaving one of their friends behind in the downtown area.

That one can be seen crawling on the side of the Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs Hotel.