Terrain Too: A Skin Condition Becomes Art

Ariana Page Russell

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• Ariana Page Russell
• Jim O'Donnell
• Alison Manch

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Affixed to the window of Platform Gallery is a series of translucent, plastic, temporary tattoos. Their pattern of fanlike shapes in varying shades of pink is taken from photographs displayed on the adjacent interior wall of the gallery. Ariana Page Russell created this delicate work, entitled Terrain Too, using c-prints (color photo prints) of her own skin. Photographing her belly and back, Russell used the darkroom to manipulate the hues and enlarge the images so the fine details (pores, wrinkles, hair) are visible. As a result of a condition called dermatographia, Russell's skin is especially reactive, blushing easily at touch or irritation. That said, the intense dark pinks are not an exaggeration so much as a darkening to replicate shadow. Against the glass, the transparent tattoos are not only more delicate in color than the photo paper, but also subtly textured. In order to imprint the pattern of skin to the plastic, Russell affixed the temporary tattoos to her arms before the tattoos were applied to the window. Both halves of the piece are shaped like rough-edged rectangles, so that Terrain Too reads like a sort of book: one page of solids, and one page of transparents. Russell is once again musing on the body (her own body), as she has done in previous works, exploring issues of vulnerability and, like in her most recent collaborative effort with Alison Manch (next door at Soil Gallery), what it means to be looked at. This is the only work by Russell in this group exhibit, "A Spectral Glimpse," curated by Jim O'Donnell. I was hoping for more. Platform Gallery, 114 Third Ave. S., 323-2808, www.platformgallery.com. Ends Dec. 1.