The concept of the new flesh is born out of the body overriding the mind. That which the mind says is disgusting or diseased becomes beautiful. (Richmond)
This work is an attempt to blend attraction, repulsion, sex and death. It aims to reveal connections between the internal and external bodily landscapes, while drawing our attention to the idea of the mind/body gap and what it means to be human.
In science fiction films 'otherness' is something to be rejected and feared, perhaps as it directs our attention to our own 'human-ness'. This 'otherness' is presented as being less human, more alien. In the film, 'The Man Who Fell to Earth' (Roeg, 1976) as the protagonist's true physical identity is revealed he becomes a source of fear. He is also revealed to not age which cements this 'otherness' as possessing a kind of power over physical human vulnerability. In similar ways the Mutants in Verhoeven's Total Recall (1990) had physical otherness (such as three breasts, a baby protruding from a man's chest) but also possessed psychic powers. The replicants in Bladerunner (Reynolds) were not human as they seemingly didn't have the capacity for emotions. Through this notion of 'otherness' these films suggest this idea as something to be feared, while they also attract a peculiar fascination and ignite a sense of superiority over our vulnerable 'human-ness'.
Seeds of fear spawn from the unknown,the irrational, and what we can not control. Rene Descartes said that 'there is an independent non material soul inhibiting and finding expression in a mechanically operated body.'(Richmond) Our minds attempt to rationalise the wild and abject body is perhaps the biggest source of fear. David Cronenberg said there is an inner life to a human being that can be as dangerous as any animal in the forest. (Richmond)
Horror films are frightening because they directly confront us with the fragile and finite nature of the body, and therefore speak directly to our human-ness as primarily physical beings, subordinate to the body. Cronenbergs films often utilise gore for these psychological intentions rather than shock value. In 'The Fly' (Cronenbeg, 1986) cross-contamination causes the protagonists mind to be completely overtaken by the body. This idea is emphasised in Videodrome (Cronenberg, 1983) where the concept of 'The New Flesh' refers to the idea of the body overriding the mind, where the abject becomes beautiful.
I wanted this work to be sculptural to imagine something living, or once living, human, with an unnerving aesthetic that evokes questions of what this means. Focusing on bodily ooze, fluids, flesh, skin, hair, strange protuberances and playing with materials to achieve this such as glue, foam, resin, paint, synthetic hair, and a recycled mannequin part. This work is a speculative sculpture, a representation of what the mind considers 'disgusting'.
This work is a consolidation of these ideas, a visceral response to the flesh where the abject blends with repulsion, attraction, sex and death. I would like it to be placed in a gallery and hope to invite viewers to consider what it means to be human.
Cronenberg, David, 1986, The Fly, 20th century fox
Cronenberg, David, 1983, Videodrome, Universal
Maclean, Alison, 1989, The Kitchen Sink
Reynolds, David, Being Post-human in Ridley Scott's Bladerunner, Accessed: https://davaflava.wordpress.com/2014/10/13/being-post-human-in-ridley-scotts-blade-runner/
Richmond, Rachel, Terror Incognita: body horror and the fear of the flesh in the films of David Cronenberg. Accessed: http://www.slideshare.net/rvrich24/terror-incognita-body-horror-and-the-fear-of-the-flesh-in-the-films-of-david-cronenberg
Roeg, Nicolas, The Man Who Fell To Earth, British Lion films
Verhoeven, 1990, Total Recall, Tri-star pictures
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