In my body, in my bones, 2019
I forgot what it felt like to be gentle with myself; To look at my body with kind eyes and touch it with delicate hands. I forgot that I could be soft and intimate with my skin, with my bones, and with my scars. That I could see myself; pieced together from the pain and violence; and be able to mend, to heal, to breathe.
In my body, in my bones is an installation that discusses the violent ways I have treated my body in an attempt at constructing safety from others, and how to heal from the pain I have inflicted. Using materials such as soy wax and liquid latex, I recreate my physical body and my skin as visual indicators of my scars, trauma, and violence, but also as containers to hold the potentiality of healing.
The installation consists of a candle of my body, an endurance performance projected onto latex, the scent of black poplar, the sound of my breath inhaling, and a poem written on a panel of latex that is only visible through candlelight.
In creating each piece, I sought to unearth a cathartic practice of self-care, exposing the subtle, but violent habits I impose onto my body daily, in order to relearn how to treat myself and finally begin to heal. The work acts as the beginning of understanding that our bodies are resilient, strong, and worthy of care and that I am finally ready to care for mine.
I forgot what it felt like to be gentle with myself; To look at my body with kind eyes and touch it with delicate hands. I forgot that I could be soft and intimate with my skin, with my bones, and with my scars. That I could see myself; pieced together from the pain and violence; and be able to mend, to heal, to breathe.
In my body, in my bones is an installation that discusses the violent ways I have treated my body in an attempt at constructing safety from others, and how to heal from the pain I have inflicted. Using materials such as soy wax and liquid latex, I recreate my physical body and my skin as visual indicators of my scars, trauma, and violence, but also as containers to hold the potentiality of healing.
The installation consists of a candle of my body, an endurance performance projected onto latex, the scent of black poplar, the sound of my breath inhaling, and a poem written on a panel of latex that is only visible through candlelight.
In creating each piece, I sought to unearth a cathartic practice of self-care, exposing the subtle, but violent habits I impose onto my body daily, in order to relearn how to treat myself and finally begin to heal. The work acts as the beginning of understanding that our bodies are resilient, strong, and worthy of care and that I am finally ready to care for mine.
In My body, In My Bones from Caitlyn Clester on Vimeo.
