Eye Sleight Installation (2023)
Chromidrosis is a rare skin disorder that manifests as a dramatic dark blue/black particulate secretion concentrated around the eyes. It was most prevalent in young women in the 1800s with over 45 cases documented in Western Europe between 1709 and 1949. A small number of unique pathological illustrations of the condition dating from circa 1869 exist in Trinity College Old Anatomy Museum. The different artists, who made the six watercolours in TCD’s collection includes Dubliner Marcella Irwin. They have managed to accurately illustrate disfiguring dermatological diseases while creating empathetic portraits of the sitters. These drawings of young, beautiful women have a distinctly modern feel to them. They appear to mirror current fashion trends which favour an emphasis on eyes, particularly brows and lashes which can be exaggerated almost to the level of caricature. These images could be easily misinterpreted as illustrating a particular make-up style which uses dramatic masks of blue/purple and black.
Deception, 04:47, transferred 16mm and digital film.
Chromidrosis was thought initially to have been an act of deception whereby the women painted their eyes black in an attention seeking manner. The illness may have been triggered by unacknowledged trauma which interrupted the digestive system causing a sweat of unabsorbed toxins. The individuals did not seem to have ever received a conclusive diagnosis, it wasn’t until the 1950s that any explanation was presented and still this never acknowledged the 1800s observation that the pigment secreted was indigo – instead it was called a lipofuscin or coloured fat. The fact that the disfigurement was concentrated around the eyes gave rise to the development of the theme of masking in my response – how it secreted from their skin, exposed their problem and in turn was interpreted as a deceit that had to be erased.
Erasure, 10:00, digital film
Unmasking is a familiar concept in conservation – the removal of staining and disfigurement in the effort to preserve stability and re-establish the integrity of the object and the original artists’ intention. Often conservation is presented to the public as a series of before and after images – focussing on unmasking. In treating the watercolours belonging to the Old Anatomy Museum, I drew a parallel in my gentle surface cleaning using latex free sponges with how these womens’ faces were rubbed and scrubbed to remove the black/blue staining.
Exposure, Screenprint, etching & thermochromic paint, electronics, 38 x 48cm.
This piece incorporates a list of the recorded Chromidrosis sufferers in 1869. It was published in the Dublin Quarterly Journal of Medicine 1869 Art. VII 68-103. The author, Dr Wynne-Foot, titled the article ‘Two Cases of Chromidrosis, with Remarks’, and detailed the various attempts to diagnose, treat and cure the illness. While their names have not been exposed, the details of their ages, gender, menstruation and the location of the dark secretion shows how it was predominantly an illness affecting young women.
Secretion, (2023) Desiccated XKA hydrogel
Reports on Chromidrosis detail how the blue/black secretion could be rubbed off, only to return in a short period of time. Secretion presents the premise of sloughed skin, not unlike the process of ecdysis in snakes and other reptiles. These tissue fragments are reminiscent of such casts but also evidence of growth and change – as if the occupant has altered their appearance and shed their skin.
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