The Skin I'm In
I created this work in 2017 during my time as a Jerome Foundation grant recipient. The Skin I’m In addresses identity and the nature and state of human skin. Textiles, fiber, and skin are intimately related. Textiles are in contact with our skin from the moment we are born. In nearly all cultures, the newborn is wrapped, protected, warmed, swaddled. When skin is damaged, we turn to fiber for healing: bandages, dressings, and wrappings are textiles. Suture is thread. Wounds are sewn and stitched.
This work gathers stories about skin and identity through interviews regarding aging, illness, and self-initiated skin marking. Skin is the last barrier between our physical selves and the outside world and a primary defining characteristic. Artist, subject, and viewer come to this experience with an indisputable common attribute — the skin we are in.