Last weekend at Superchief Gallery in LA, Sarah Sitkin's Bodysuits were on... full display. The haunting, intriguing, but generally awe-inspiring work was presented throughout the gallery, bringing in hundreds of visitors to witness Sitkin's suits. The Bodysuits are modeled after real people, using unbelievable precision to present a hyperrealistic representation of human bodies, in an effort to intentionally subvert boundaries and privacy to provoke recognition in the shared human experience. Visitors are invited to wear the suits, and in doing so, emphasize, confront, and reevaluate the judgement they hold towards others' bodies and their own.
The artist provided this illuminating description of the show, including its origins and some of its goals: "The concept for this show was born when my grandmother asked me to make a mold of her toes. This led to a specific conversation about the physical attributes we personally remain insecure about. However, this quickly expanded beyond the personal, into the nature of the human condition as a meditation on the self. Our universal detachment with our bodies leads us through a lifetime of serious divides, between fantasy and reality for what our bodies should and could be. I do not believe the body defines who we are. It’s not really the essence of 'us,' but functions more like a garment than a persona. The bodies in the show are direct molds from actual people. They have been recreated with extreme detail. Each suit carries its own weight, intended to communicate a burden or lack thereof for that particular body, such as the softness of youth, the stiffness of scar tissue, or the fragility of aging skin. I wanted Bodysuits to be an experience of the burden or pleasure of somebody’s physicality. The universal experience of insecurity is painful and often private, consolidated to a temporary solution and quick-fix mentality that ignores the impending difficulties of age and breaking down. Bodysuits is a reminder of our impending mortality, allowing us to experience anothers being with curiosity and empathy, remembering our skins are not the self."
The gallery will be open to visitors every day until March 25th, so if you're in LA and have some free time, go by and try one on.
All photos shot by the artist