SKIN ADORNMENTS

“[Skin] lacks definite boundaries, flowing continuously from the exposed surfaces of the body to its internal cavities.”
~ Ellen Lupton 

My current research investigates intersections between the human body and the adornment on its surface. Seemingly similar in function, skin, jewelry and clothing both reveal even as they conceal, seduce, and repulse. What we place upon our body becomes a part of our being, another external layer of our manipulation. These layers are constantly transitioning between the external and internal. It is in this dichotomy where my interest lies. 

This work merges of the grotesque and the elegant, using pearl as an indicator of purity, vanity, social class, and beauty. By layering this traditional ornament in a contemporary material such as silicone rubber, the pearl necklace becomes a part of the body — both beauty and imperfection, both skin and adornment.

While jewelry creates a second skin, garments also function as layers between our physical and perceived bodies. Just as skin flows continuously over our contours, clothing becomes an extension of the body. In this work, the edge both peels away and merges with the body, blurring what is natural & man-made. 

Through juxtapositions between the beautiful & the repulsive, the perfect & the imperfect, this work creates tension between our surfaces and ourselves. Through the observable layers that envelope on our bodies, we exhibit visual indicators to others within our culture. The border between body and embellishment thus becomes blurred and our skin becomes the adornment.