Untitled (fluff)

My work examines corporality and asks the viewer to consider his/her experiences of living in one’s skin. When it comes to our body weight, society boasts that skinnier is better; less is more. In every other area of our lives, more is better, more money, houses, cars, etc. This contradiction of cultural priorities is what I explore in my work and I do so by overpowering the body in excessive amounts of junk food. The body is so engulfed by this substance that there is no longer a distinction between body and surroundings, calling into question one’s own physicality within his/her own space. 

I use Marshmallow Fluff as a metaphor for human skin because it demonstrates similar qualities, such as suppleness and adaptability. Skin varies greatly in its texture; it is tight across the palm, thick on the soles of the feet, yet thin and flexible on the eyelid. Fluff is viscous and gooey when it first comes out of the jar; as gravity pulls it down, it warms and oozes as internal fluids might. When Fluff is left untouched over the body, it fossilizes as it dries, and mimics the texture of skin. The model experiences what it would be like to have excessive amounts of flesh, weighing her down and immersing herself into her surroundings. Glimpses of her flesh poke through, and mysterious undulating forms and ambiguous spaces are revealed by the point of view of the camera.

My photographs transform the figure in its space into a hyper-visceral creature by melting the body and domestic objects into one, rendering couches, tables etc. useless. It gives a visual form to the emotional perception of overflowing the limits of one’s skin, and takes over the space with the body.  The excessive quantity of material creates a fantasy world made out of white, lava-like, sticky material, intertwining the body as it pulls and prods it in numerous positions.  In this alternate space, gravity does not exist; body parts do not connect logically, and narratives are symbolic rather than literal.  The model’s state of mind is ambiguous allowing the viewer to ponder if she is being victimized or pleasured.