O L I V I E R G O U L E T

Olivier Goulet, 'Skin Bag' (2008)

SkinBag creates seamless, realistic-looking yet fake, human skin that is worn like a catsuit. SkinBag is the creation of Olivier Goulet, a French artist who makes clothes, accessories, shoes and more out of the single pieces of organic, synthetic material that not only looks like skin, but feels like flesh too.

The clothes and accessories first draw attention for their unique, albeit creepy, look and then repulse when their intended resemblance to human skin is noted, then attract once again when it is realized that they are indeed crafted from synthetic materials.

And that is precisely the desired effect behind Goulet’s enterprise: to create a shock to the system and to make us question our relationship to ourselves.

What happens when we abolish surfaces? The cosmetic industry represent the skin as something which has only two dimensions, it is a surface for inscription. What is the third dimension hidden beneath the smooth surface? What does the interface become, if we leave behind the traditional man-machine mechanisms?