2007

Machine embroidery with thread on cosmetic facial peel, dress form

64”H x 16”W x 16”D

The Trousseau series uses a transparent plastic-like material that results from a common drugstore facial peel-off mask.  This bizarre beauty product picks up and retains the detailed impression of texture and hairs on one’s skin.  I essentially cover my entire body with the product.  Once it dries, I peel it off in one large “hide” so that I have large sheets of “fabric” to work with in constructing the sculptures for the series.  I treat the peel material as if it were fabric resembling organza or chiffon.  The sculptures are embellished with computerized machine embroidery using abstracted anatomical, botanical, and ornamental imagery as decorative motifs.  

Exhibition Views

Museum of Contemporary Craft

Book

Manuf®actured: The Conspicuous Transformation of Everyday Objects, By Skov Holt & Holt Skov

Reviews

Fiberarts, January/February 2009

"...Splan's Trousseau (Negligee #1) lists cosmetics facial peel and machine embroidery as its ingredients... Since the purpose of a facial peel is to exfoliate, a third ingredient remains unmentioned: sloughed human skin... work like Splan's... provides a valuable commentary on human society (e.g. Why does a skin negligee seem utterly unmanufacturable, when we've already done such a marvelous job industrializing the skinning of cows, lizards and some small furry mammals?)..." (Blinn, Core77, 2008)

Related Work:

Negligee #2 (Serotonin)
Fan (Anatomy of the Gaze)
Handkerchief (Anatomy of Tears)