Skin Crawl
2018
Expiring fruit cast in jesmonite, rubber objects cast from ad-hoc molds made from fishnet tights and plastic bags, muslin, leatherette, carved and painted polystyrene, Perspex, gemstones, pebbles, sea sponge, nail polish, steel and a ceramic toe
Skin Crawl is an agglomeration of vibrantly coloured and textured body-objects that draw from the concepts of trypophobia (a fear of closely clustered holes) and aposematism (warning colouration exhibited by animals who are hostile to predators) to refer to the aging process and the refusal to conform to cultural ideals. The work is made from expiring fruit cast in jesmonite, rubber objects cast from ad-hoc molds made from fishnet tights and plastic bags, muslin, leatherette, carved and painted polystyrene, gemstones, pebbles, sea sponge, nail polish and a ceramic toe.
Whilst walking in the park, a friend mentioned that her husband finds highly textured tree-bark disturbing recoiling from it. This reaction, termed trypophobia, is an extreme aversion to closely clustered bumps or holes. It reminded me of how media and advertising prompt reactions to signs of aging in women. At 43, I was coming to terms with the decision to stop dyeing my hair, viewing it as a silent protest against double-standards around ageing. This made me more aware of my wrinkles. A woman at my part-time office job had left fruit lying above the heater for six weeks, causing it to pucker and dehydrate. She joked that it resembled her skin. I made moulds of the wrinkled fruit and added fleshy, bulbous, rubbery parts; holes; gemstones and garish colours to create a group of body-objects.
They inhabit a stand which is simultaneously flat and solid, akin to a liquid spill frozen in the moment of pouring off a table. They are presented as a sculptural group portrait, drawing on a memory of a tv show I watched as a teenager about a Sports Illustrated photoshoot. A group of taut-bodied supermodels pose in bikinis on an rough outcrop of volcanic rock, their glamour in stark contrast to the sense of discomfort I felt watching them.
This work was developed during the Hospitalfield Summer Residency 2018 and exhibited in #24hrwindow, Glasgow.