In my work, I often remove a skin of its body. This is what I call skinning or flaying. In the ATELIER/skinning you can see how I practise this. But taking the skin of a body is more than a practical skill. By the act of flaying I separate the skin and the inner body, with all its consequences. It is an intense act, being both violent and gentle. A very intimate and vulnerable act, which I like to surround with rituals and respect. Roland Barthes makes a beautiful metaphor of the flayed and the lover: --Ecorche / flayed The particular sensibility of the amorous subject, which renders him vulnerable, defenceless to the slightest injuries.
Because flaying is such an intense act and the consequences of that are beyond what I can fully grasp, I am intrigued by it. Within my work I am constantly questioning what happens when I separate this skin from this body? |