DB: who or what are some of your influences as an artist? Bodies are politicized and labeled despite the ideals and identities of those individuals, especially when presented without emotional or social markers. I have a solo show in december 2018 with nohwave gallery in los angeles, and I'm working on a very special collaboration with my friends from matières fécales. I try and insulate myself from trends and entertainment media. Silicone bodysuit for men. There's a subtle discrepancy between what we think we look like and the reality of our appearance. But sometimes taking a closer look—at mucus, teeth, genitals, hair, and how it's all put together—can be a strangely uncomfortable experience.
To present a body as separate from the self—as a garment for the self. Combining sculpture, photography, SFX, body art, and just plain unadorned oddity, the strange worlds suggested by her creations are as dreamlike as they are nightmarish. Skin tight bodysuit for sale. In the sessions I've experienced a myriad of responses. The work of sarah sitkin is delightfully hard to describe. Navigating the inevitable conflict, listening to opinions and providing emotional support is stressful but it's part of the responsibility of being an artist making provocative work around delicate subject matter. Designboom: can you talk a bit about your background as an artist: how you first started making art, where the impulse came from and when you began to make these sculptural, body-focused pieces? There were materials the shop carried like dental alginate, silicone, high quality clays, casting resins, plasters, and specialty adhesives that I got to mess around with as a young person because of the shops' proximity to the special effects studios and prop shops.
I try to curate, whenever possible, the environment that my work is seen in, using controlled lighting, soundscapes and design elements to make it possible for others to document my work in interesting and beautiful ways. 'I try to curate, whenever possible, the environment that my work is seen in'. Most all the ideas I have come from concepts I'm battling with internally every day; body dysmorphia, nihilism, transcendence, ageing, and social constructs. Women bodysuit for men. As part of the project, I do 'fitting sessions' where I aid and allow people to actually wear the bodysuits inside a private, mirrored fitting room. I use materials and techniques borrowed from special effects, prosthetics, and makeup (an industry built on the foundations of those words) but the concepts I'm illustrating really have nothing to do with gore, cosplay, or horror. 'bodies are volatile icons despite their banal ubiquity'. These early molding and casting experiments really came to play a huge role in the ideas I would later have as an artist, and got me very comfortable with the materials and process. Moving a person out of their comfort zone is the first step in achieving vulnerability, and in that space, a person may allow themselves to be impacted. With the accessibility of photography (everyone has a cameraphone), the ability to curate identity through image-based social media, and the culture of individualism—building experiences that facilitate other people documenting my artwork seems necessary if I want to connect with my audience.
DB: your sculptures, while at times unsettling, are also incredibly intimate and display the human form in a really unglamorous way that feels—especially in the case of 'bodysuits'—very personal. A young person was able to wear ageing skin to reconnect with the present moment. SS: 'bodysuits' began as a project to examine the division between body and self. I definitely see the finished suits as standalone objects, however, it's also so important to approach each suit with care and respect, because they still represent actual individuals. SS: like so many people in my generation, photos are an integral part of how we communicate. DB: I know you're also really interested in photography and I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on how that ties into the other avenues of your practice. 'I am deliberately making work that aims to bring the audience to a state of vulnerability'. Do you see the documentation of your more sculptural work as an extension of those pieces or a separate thing altogether? BODYSUITS examines the divide between body and self, and saw visitors trying on body molds like garments. DB: your work is often described as 'creepy' or 'horror art', and while there is something undeniably discomfiting about some of your pieces, are these terms ones you identify with personally and is this sense of disorientation something you intentionally set out to try and achieve? Every day we have to make it our own; tailor, adorn and modify it to suit our identity at the moment.
Does creating pieces specifically for display in a gallery context change the way you approach a project, or is your process always the same regardless? Sitkin's studio is home to a variety of different tools and textiles. SS: 'creepy' and horror' are terms I struggle to transcend. SS: I've been a rogue artist for a long time operating outside the institutional art world. There were several sessions that had an impact in ways I didn't foresee; a trans person was able to see themselves with a body they identify with, and solidified their understanding of themselves. I developed my own techniques through experimentation and research, then distributed my work primarily via photographs and video on social media. That ownership of experience is so important to eschew psychological blockades, to allow the work to be impactful in meaningful ways. This wasn't just any craft shop—it was a craft shop in a part of the city that was saturated with movie studios so it catered to the entertainment industry. Most recently, sitkin's 'BODYSUITS' exhibition at superchief gallery in LA invited visitors to try on the physical molds of other people's naked bodies, essentially enabling them to experience life through someone else's skin.
DB: your work kind of eschews categorisation—how do you see yourself in relation to the 'conventional' art world? It forces us to confront the less 'curated' sides of the human body, and it's an aspect that artist sarah sitkin is fascinated with. I'm finally coming into myself as an artist in the past couple of years, learning how to fuse my craftsmanship with concept to achieve a complete idea. To what extent do you feel the personalities or experiences of your real-life subjects are retained by the finished molds, or, once complete, do you see the suits as standalone objects in their own right?
Sitkin's molds toy with and tear apart the preconceptions we have about our own bodies. DB: what's next for sarah sitkin? This de-personification allows us to view our physical form without familiarity, and we are confronted with the inconsistency between how we appear vs how we exist in our minds. A woman chose to wear a male body to confront her fear and personal conflict with it. Removing the boundaries between the audience and the art allows the experience to become their own. I'm pretty out of touch with pop music and culture.
DB: what is the most difficult part of the human body to replicate, and what is your favorite part to work on? DB: can you tell us about your most recent exhibition 'bodysuits'? The sculptures, while at times unsettling, are also incredibly intimate. What was the aim of the project, and what was the general response like? Combining an eclectic mix of materials, sitkin's work consists of hyper-realistic molds of the human form which toy with and tear apart the preconceptions we have about our own bodies, and the bodies of those around us. SS: I'm looking to bring the bodysuits show to other cities, next stop is detroit, michigan on may 4th 2018. Designboom caught up with sitkin recently to talk about the exhibition, as well her background as an artist and plans for the future. The result is often unsettling but also deeply personal and affecting, and offers viewers new perspectives on the bodies they thought they knew so well. A prosthetic iPhone case created by sitkin that looks, moves and feels like a real ear. Sitkin's father ran a craft shop in LA called 'kit kraft' where she was first introduced to the art of special effects. I suppose doing an interview with someone who's body was molded for the show would be an interesting read.
We sweat, suffer and bleed to try and steer it into our own direction. It can be a very emotional experience.