OBLIQUE—IMAGES FROM STELARC’S EXTRA EAR SURGERY

NINA SELLARS

In Oblique the twisted bodies, discoloured flesh and extensions into the bodily space normally associated with Baroque imagery have been transformed into an extended body, revealing a palette of Manneristlike flesh formed by a mix of iodine stains and restricted blood flow. The ‘irregularly shaped pearl’ of the Baroque has become a cultivated pearl here: an artificial ear scaffold seeded with the performance artist Stelarc’s living cells. Oblique thus provides an ambiguous space for an anatomically augmented body, situated as it is between a surgical theatre and the theatricality of the Baroque. Each image combines a photographic close-up with a proscenium arch of darkness. Reminiscent of a 17th century stage, the arch hides the ‘behind the scenes’ machinery to frame a selected area of action for ‘front of house’ viewing. In offering a glimpse of an ongoing surgical spectacle, Oblique participates in the rupture of the body ideal.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Nina Sellars is an Australian artist who is based in Melbourne, and resides part of each year in London. Sellars lectures in Drawing at the Faculty of Art & Design, Monash University. Sellars often works collaboratively with scientists and artists on cross-disciplinary projects.