My skin is open // red raw (2023)
Action performed alongside Eve De-Castro Robinson, Sung Hwan Bobby Park and Ivan Lupi for his ‘Untimely’ series at Scott Lawrie Gallery.
All photos Lee Torres Calderon
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My Skin is Open // Red Raw.
My nails are hard
but my skin is open.
I scour my skin and drag my claws over its centimeters.
My body pulls my fingers where it wants them to scrape
And they move accordingly.
I articulate all of the surface of my skin.
My skin warms as it’s scraped – I ensure all corners are opened and warm.
The water cools it down,
It stings the soft gaping scratches,
The lesions with their scabs torn off.
I wash my body down all over.
I cover all the scrapes with water,
Absorbing layers and collecting in the tray at my feet.
Wash,
Cool,
Then push every drop of water and skin back off my bones.
I push all the water filled with
Skin cells,
Blood,
Dirt from under my fingernails,
Bacteria,
Viscera,
Back into the tray.