The Skin exhibition looks at its subject from cultural, artistic, and scientific viewpoints. The sections of the exhibit consist of Objects, Markings, Impressions, Afterlife, and Skin Lab. The exhibition includes many historical examples of how skin was regarded in the past, along with details about new advances in dermatology today, truly allowing the mind to wander off into many different aspects of the skin.

Skin is not only a biological organ, but also a way people identify and express themselves on a much more personal level, even through involuntary actions as simple as blushing. Being the largest organ of the body, the skin is a protective shield to the viscera, yet also used as a way to identify yourself, distinguishing you from others based on colour, markings, diseases, and especially fingerprints. This fascinating exhibition is perfectly honest about what skin actually looks like, what its purpose is for the body, and how it is solely responsible for the very important sense of feeling.

The section called Objects begins by showing the inside organs and muscles as a way to highlight the protective responsibility that our skin holds. It then continues to show the outside of the skin with holes and punctures to show the outside-in view as a way to note that skin is merely an object surrounding the human body. Cleverly noted in a quotation in this section is that skin being peeled back can show the inner ‘truth’. I found this concept very interesting to relate the skin as an object, yet also recognise it in a more spiritual sense of covering up everyone’s inner truthful being.

As you continue your journey through a winding pathway, you come to the next section of Markings. This section examines the many different natural imperfections in an artistic manner and also a bluntly scientific way as well. I must say some of the images from the scientific standpoint were brutally graphic and may have been disturbing to some viewers, but the idea behind this whole exhibition was to honestly show the flaws that skin may hold. I truly enjoyed the artistic side of this section because it showed wrinkles, age spots, and even some diseases in a not so literal way which was actually very beautiful. Specifically, there were a few different textured ceramic pots that were used to express syphilis, acne, and scarred skin. The artist had taken a normal object of art and used it in a way to express something much deeper. Using these different marks as a way to identify yourself with others, establish differences among groups, and even to simply identify your age or a type of disease, has been practised for hundreds of thousands of years.

Grouped somewhat together with Markings was the section of Impressions. This area mainly focused on skin being the tool for feeling, itching, blushing, and sweating as a way to express the inner emotions on the outside of the body stemming from the intricate thought processes on the inside. Some of these expressions may be involuntary, yet feeling is very much voluntary. The motivation behind feeling others or objects is yet another way to identify yourself, which flows continuously with the idea behind the markings section. A large component in this area is the issue of tattooing and how that is a way to make your skin actually come alive and be visually expressive. There are even samples of real skin that were cut off of prisoners many years ago that showed their tattoos as a controversial form of self-expression.

The last section is called Afterlives, and is by far the most emotional section for obvious reasons. One painting that stuck out in my mind showed a young boy, lifeless, laying on a surgical table while others stood around him trying to figure out why he had died. As sad as this was, it was an artistic way to connect the appearance of life and death. Before even reading the caption for that painting I could tell the boy was dead, which was the point behind this section. Skin is a way to express livelihood by being flushed and pigmented, while after death it is colourless and cold, no sign of a soul still there. Another interesting point made in this area is that even after death, the only part of a human that can be preserved is the skin. No organs or personality of a human can biologically be preserved and treated like skin. This has been known for thousands of years, going all the way back to ancient Egyptians using embalming fluid to preserve the bodies of their precious leaders. Skin is without a doubt an extremely versatile, indestructible organ of the body for all of these different reasons combined.

My expectations for this exhibition before I entered were that it was going to be largely based on scientific facts and mainly the anatomy and different diseases involved with the skin. I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that skin was exhibited in a much more personal and spiritual sense. The issues of race, disease, ageing, and even plastic surgery were touched upon in an honest way, not to insult anyone in anyway, but to openly address the different opinions of how skin can be regarded.

Regardless of the Skin Lab section which holds new scientific findings of different skin cells and replicas of skin suits, some reviews of this exhibition have been disappointed with the lack of scientific reasoning behind the different examples of diseases or sensations involved with skin. I would agree that there is a lack of explanation on a factual scientific level, but I don’t believe that is what the curator of this exhibition was aiming to portray. It is very obvious that skin is being exhibited in a deeper sense than just scientific facts of how Merkel nerve endings in the dermis layer are used to send sensory impulses to the brain. That kind of information is interesting to a specific group of people, while this exhibit was able to connect with everyone. We are all able to identify with the different markings shown, or issues of ageing, or even the social pressure to do whatever it takes to have ‘perfect’ skin. Overall, this whole exhibition was able to show through videos, wax sculptures, paintings, bronze statues, and pen/ink drawings, the connection between skin as a protective layer and a means of individual self-expression.