masked peeled decay: a triptych on dysphoria abjection & bodily failure ​​enter the flesh is a real life body horror triptych about the slow collapse & rot of bodily coherence & identity shot over the course of a year in europe using vaseline smeared on the lens of my phone neither solid nor liquid vaseline acts as a prosthetic skin isolating the body or the food from contact with the world while keeping it a state of non healing & partial decay each sub series reflects a dysphoric state that echoes something universal a shared discomfort with the body masked is the starting point it documents the desire to disappear under layers foundation in cream or powder skincare routine ruby necklace wig skin toned bra masked reveals the belief that artifice if done right & rigorously might soothe dysphoria & reconcile the self with its surface both titles & images evoke a screaming kind of silence a skin stretched too tight or a skincare mask that needs to be peeled here gender isnt consciously performed but weaponised against shame as a mirror avoidance mechanism a way to remain present through self erasure peeled is maskeds breaking point it begins with my nail extensions being torn off in koko in london showing both the fake nails on the club table & the damaged ones underneath this chapter is my museum of failure & shame reclaiming the narrative by showing what i used to hide a bleeding blister acne & greasy skin period pads & blood leg hair stretch marks jewellery & clothing marks pressed into skin body fluids tape across my chest to flatten my breasts tattoos sunburns peeling skin vaseline no longer masks but becomes both healing substance & infection echoing pus blood retinol compulsive soap creams applied to fix what cant be fixed the unhomely polish of beauty is replaced by the texture of wounds dysphoria & body arent hidden anymore they leak decay no longer shows the body but its substitutes alimentary waste & domestic trash it emphasises the gendered dimension of eating disorders reinforced by the near total absence of fictional girls eating in public or eating at all the slow decomposition of food mirrors the process of bodily decay applied to remnants exposed to air & oxydation vaseline freezes natural rot creating a liminal state between artificial preservation & decomposition the surface may seem intact but putrefaction continues inside vaseline stalls rot but never cancel it i used to have a toad & remember thinking while feeding it worms & insects this must be what the inside of my body looks like a contaminated space infested with eggs as a symptom of inhabiting a reproductive system designed as penetrable porous & destined to be filled by foreign liquid in the enter series the body is no longer the only site of failure decay is everywhere & contamine the routine space the titles are often drawn from childhood memories as my dad smoking camels my grandma boiling eggs on thursdays or from mundane gestures they soften the horror following a childs eye journey trough the daily abject & making it a playground​​​