Wednesday 8 September 2010

Flylashes

Jesssica Harrison's Flylashes are an exciting and intriguing mix of seduction and revulsion.  Her use of real fly legs as fake eyelashes may appear abhorrent to some, but it is entirely appropriate to the history of cosmetics, where the use of seemingly repugnant materials is mollified by the fact that they are effective.  Cochineal (a product derived from crushed beetle) is one such cosmetic material, and is now used widely in food and cosmetics. 


In addition to the fly-lashes, Harrison has also created mouth eyes- which feature "lips" for lids, which can be seen on her website.  Her fascination with body parts, is intriguing as she shows off an entire series of sculpted "body furniture".  Comments about Harrison's work are often critical, based on a knee jerk reaction to an alternative application of an animal product.  Why use fly legs? Why not? It is no more inappropriate than the use of real hair extensions extracted for a small monetary recompense and sold to the consumer with a huge mark up price. 

2 comments:

  1. Very interesting work. These remind me of the Aeon Flux animations.
    - Matea

    www.machinefilles.blogspot.com

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  2. Absolutely, the intro to Aeon Flux was always so captivating.....no pun intended!

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