Beneath the Skin

Performance with Jacky O’Shaughnessy in Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York.

At the time, Jacky O'Shaughnessy was known for her role as American Apparel's controversial, lead lingerie model. She was asked to perform in Brooklyn, not only because of her striking beauty, but because she was pushing age boundaries in her career. For the exhibit, she stood upon a rotating pedestal for three hours in a small room adjacent to the main gallery. Her struggle spoke to the idea of getting trapped within a mind set of beauty and perfection tied to youth. When Jacky's knees began to tremble, audience members shed tears. Not only was the performance a test of her physical endurance, it represented the complex pressures set upon women in today's society. In the main gallery, an installation of red dresses in garment bags, all made from skin-like material, suspended from meat hooks. Jacky wore a dress also constructed of the same material to speak to an additional level of discomfort in the modern world and our suppressed connection to nature.