


Vaia Tatopoulou, 2019
“Unter die Haut“ is a series of printed and dyed textiles that evokes associations of meat, and at the same time comments on our fast paced society. It combines the modern phenomena of both fast food and fast fashion.
Immediate, living flesh is omnipresent but never visible. Instead, we have pictures of it or transform it into disembodied, harmless products. In doing so, we ourselves are made of this bloody and sinewy material, hidden by the skin, which gives us a feeling of integrity, completeness and protection. What lies beneath remains hidden, and yet a strange fascination emanates from it.
From the perspective of flesh as substance and at the same time metaphor, textiles were developed that take up certain visual and tactile characteristics of flesh and articulate them on an artificial level. What meat stands for, more than just the meat we encounter as an object in everyday life.
Textiles have turned into consumer goods; rather than appreciating them, they are quickly replaced. We produce and consume textiles in large quantities, without thinking about the consequences. The same applies to our treatment of food, especially meat. Once we are ready to prepare and eat meat-produce, our connection to its origin has already been lost and forgotten.It’s time to give as much thought into what we put on our bodies and in our bodies as we put in thinking what we can get next, as fast as possible.
The crossing of boundaries and the play between fascination and disgust evokes an unusual familiarity with flesh through emphasized artificiality. It’s time to give as much thought into what we put on our bodies and in our bodies as we put in thinking what we can get next, as fast as possible.