Ariana Page Russell’s skin

Ariana Page Russell is currently based out of Brooklyn, New York, USA. Russell has dermatographia, a condition in which her skin is hypersensitive, causing painless, temporary welts that emerge when lightly stroked, scratched, rubbed, and sometimes even slapped. Russell exploits her condition in her artwork by creating patterns on different parts of her body and photographing them as the skin becomes irritated and swells. Russell has an upcoming show slated for November 2011 at the Magnan Metz (New York City, New York, USA) if you’re in the area!

“Russell’s recent work continues to explore the possibilities of flesh, using her skin as both source material and an entry to go deeper into the body and its emotions. Images of Russell’s abdomen appear throughout the exhibit: covering the gallery window; in a photograph of her torso blanketed in triangular welts resembling raised sails; and as the temporary tattoo mask that she manipulates over her face in the video, Blouse. In this piece, she exhales sharply into the mask to produce a fleeting, gauzy window. A sudden inhale collapses the window to create a skin-tight barrier with each breath. Blouse comes to a close as Russell removes the tattoo, her unadorned face remaining interrogative but naked of the revelatory mask.”

http://arianapagerussell.com