Beth Oberholtzer
Speaking in Skins
October 29 - November 30, 2000
Skin: bumpy, delicate, soft, coarse, fine, pimply, worty,
dry, papery, plump, healthy, weathered, thick, thin, young, aged, translucent, sallow, pale, dark, fair, wrinkly, furry.
Speaking in Skins was dynamic and contemporary, visceral and substantial. Her first solo exhibition explored the diverse possibilities
inherent in the body as subject and object, self and other. Oberholtzer's work defies the ntoion of 'public' and 'private' subject
matter. She questions what is concealed and revealed, celebrated and censored in daily life.
The shapes and textures of skin
whether animal or botanical describes its inherent purpose and the environment in which it needs to survive. The sculptural
installation work in the exhibition 'Speaking in Skins' makes use of the notions of 'Skin' as a means to explore the sensual tactile
experiences of our bodies and how touch helps us determine what attracts or repulses us. Her work confronts the classical
beauty of the human body (exterior-skin, a fragile penetrable membrane) with the reality of the corporeal. These beautiful tactile
objects communicate issues regarding our own perceptions of our bodies and the ageing process. This work also points to
prevailing cultural and political conventions of beauty and how that influences our own conceptions about the body. Oberholtzer
takes the idea of kin as a metahpor for a variety of human thoughts, fantasies and emotions. 'Speaking in Skins' gives shape to
the invisible boundaries we create as social beings in order to protect our ephemeral selves, our dreams, our emootions, our
spirits and the processes of change we as humans endure.
