Acid Mantle, 2021
15 January – 13 February 2021, COMA, Sydney

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Catalogue essay by June Miskell

The Acid Mantle series examines the rituals and economies of beauty. The term ‘acid mantle’ describes the fine, acidic veil of oils, lipids, amino and fatty acids on the surface of human skin that acts to preserve the skin’s microbiome. The threat of disturbing the acid mantle has become a coercive tool in the culture and commercialisation of skincare. 

In these works, the artist has used skincare products and ingredients, specifically papaya soap, coconuts, and silk. Chosen for their skin-whitening, tanning and anti-ageing properties, they have been distilled into their various essential elements – powder, pigment, fibre – and reconstituted into delicate paintings, textiles, and carpets.

While these works superficially represent skin and the various cultures and rituals surrounding its care, they also point to the less visible, more felt thresholds that our body’s mantle – seen from the outside – enacts on our interiors.

Photos: Zan Wimberley