YOU ARE GETTING UNDER MY SKIN
KOUMUDI PATIL
NOVEMBER 6 2009 - NOVEMBER 28 2009
“Personalization of the
body is an attempt to declare its ownership or to simply differentiate the ‘other’.
The human tendency
to guard, reveal, hide and nurture that which we think as
ones own is evident in the tendency of marking and unmarking oneself.
The
visual manifestation of this body is encountered on the surface layer of the
skin. The outermost surface is a space for
visual and physical encounters. Skin
marks the boundaries of bodily spaces. No wonder that the control of this outer
layer
has become a strategic practice to control the other.
“’Out, damned spot! out, I
say!’”
- Macbeth Act 5, scene 1, 26–40
This attempt to control and
own gets under your skin. Thinking through the skin may lead us to a frenzied
attempt to wash out
all seen and unseen marks of Duncans blood. Or else one may
position oneself on more profane versions of the cosmetic industry
instead.
While thinking of the profane one may not leave the attempts to attain purity
at length of both thought and physique. A few
drops of the sacred water
purifies the skin of the impure gaze of the other.
To mark or not to mark (the skin)
To be pure or not to be pure (skin)
To reveal or not reveal (the skin)” - Koumudi Patil
Koumudi Patil’s first solo
exhibition ‘You are getting under My Skin’ will be held at The Guild, Mumbai
from November 6 to 28, 2009.
Patil received her B.F.A from Sir J. J. School of
Art, Mumbai and M.F.A from Kala
Bhawan, Santiniketan. Koumudi is currently working
as a Faculty at the Art and
Design Programme of IIT Kanpur. Patil has also been involved with several
public art projects and group
shows over the past few years.
