The skin as a boundary between the ‘I’ and the external world

The skin is the largest human organ and also forms the boundary between our inner and outer worlds. The skin gives us our unique tangible identity and holds our internal physical world together. Without it, we would be a shapeless “mushy” mass.

Throughout the centuries, artists and scientists have been fascinated by the skin as a boundary, for what lies beneath this membrane between the inner and outer worlds? Anatomical study of the human body made it possible to represent the inner world in the best possible way and to better understand the biological machine that the body is. In the series Skin, I continue in this tradition. The concept of the skin as a border or membrane gives me infinite possibilities as a visual artist. Skin has therefore become an ongoing project,
the first works of which were created in 2005.

The border between the ‘I’ and the external world
A skin defines more than a boundary between the internal body of the personal ‘I’ and the impersonal one
of the external world. The space under our skin is unquestionably our personal space, but the space immediately outside it is in many ways public. This immediately makes it a point of discussion where our ‘I’ ends and the external world begins.

In this sense, the skin forms a mental boundary, a barrier between our own bodily integrity and the social, economic and political public space outside it.

A copy of my identity
The skin as metaphor for the physical boundary of our individual identity has been the start of
self-portraits. Using silicone casts of my skin, I had an exact copy of my own,
unique skin at my disposal. I could use and manipulate this skin physically. With the metaphor of the skin, I could question universal themes.

Thus, inside became outside (Pietà) and positive became negative (Imago / Self-portrait 5). I could also literally stretch my skin (Personal space / Self-portrait 12) or apply it as a covering on an already existing ‘base’. An example of this is Torso / Self-portrait 6 where I used the Torso Belvèdere as a ‘base’.
In my versions of this Torso, I literally measure myself with the symbol of sculpture and thus also with my cultural identity. For what constitutes “the true image”? Here I refer to the important theme of the ‘vera icon’ in art history: how much ‘self’ is needed for a self-portrait?

Identity and personal space
Ultimately, the question is to what extent our personal space extends and how social, economic and political etiquette
has been established and defined in this regard. Etiquette and conventions have a long cultural history, but their form
is constantly being redefined. The collective fantasies and stories they form are constantly in flux,
whether they are personal, political or religious. Together they shape our fictional virtual personal space, forming narratives that are many times more powerful than reality. This is why I, as a visual artist, am constantly
inspired by it.