Yu.ta 

We have the same relationship with the scars on our body as we have with the parts of our whole body: some are taboo, others do not bother us at all, we love and hate others, we hide them or expose them...

So first I wanted to subject myself to this exercise: before thinking of asking others to expose themselves, I had to expose myself.

But how can I observe my body, my skin, outside the social constructions that my brain has built up over the years? You have to keep only the facts, the factual story. I have always had a love-hate relationship with my own body, learning to appreciate it is complex, isn't "loving oneself" narcissistic? But not to "love yourself" is to needlessly self-flagellate, to victimise yourself?

This relationship is all the more complex when you are a woman and contradictory diktats on how to apprehend your body are everywhere.

A woman's 'beautiful' skin is intact, smooth and soft like in the magazines... I have significant scars on my arms; I hid them for a long time. The year I turned 19 my aunt came to see me and suggested plastic surgery to remove them permanently. I said no. I had hated these scars for a large part of my life, but when she suggested it, I realised how much I wanted them: this large piece of uneven skin is a part of my body, a reminder full of history and things I have learned, scars that tell me what I have overcome. I loved them from that moment on, or better still I realised that I already loved them.

The relationship one has with one's own body is a vast and complex subject, and I immersed myself in it by examining my own body, analysing this relationship through my scars.

Like a scientist in her laboratory, I wanted to list all the marks on my body: accidents, beauty marks, self-inflicted.

SCARS became an analytical exercise of my scars, an intimate introspection on my body, mixing art therapy and scientific/documentary photography. I had to remember stories through forgotten scars, to place them in the chronology of my life, this simple observation exercise is an intense self-reflection experience.

Each scar tells a story, my skin tells mine through its remains.

Being able to show them to the world can be an act of self-fulfilment and self-acceptance for everyone. The precise analysis and classification of my scars has led me to a greater acceptance of my body, my skin, my shell, myself. I would like to normalise the vision of scars, to popularise their unique appearances.

 

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