Honors Theses
Date of Award
Spring 5-9-2024
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Art and Art History
First Advisor
Brooke White
Second Advisor
Karen Barber
Third Advisor
John Samonds
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
Skin to Skin is a mixed-media project that investigates the inheritance of identity through fine art and anthropological approaches. With a focus on womanhood, maganda (beauty), and Filipino-American culture, Skin to Skin reflects my deconstruction of cultural beauty practices. Growing up, proximity to lightness and darkness was a heavily emphasized metric. I witnessed family members experiment with light, water, and skin-lightening products on their skin. Now, I use alternative process photography to mirror their aesthetic experimentation.
To visually connect darkroom and beauty rituals, I created a series of unique, experimental prints where I treat paper surfaces as skin. I produced different surface treatments using cameraless photographic processes, such as lumen, chemigram, cyanotype, and soap bleaching. The resulting visual languages address the physical and emotional effects of identity formation.
Another core component of Skin to Skin is kuwentuhan, a way of exchanging stories and knowledge within Filipino culture. To continue this tradition, I collaborated with other members of the Filipino-American community in the South through oral history interviews, lumen printing demonstrations, and poetry rooted in family storytelling. What started as a deeply personal narrative has evolved into a collection of voices and silhouettes. Using kuwentuhan as an artistic and anthropological framework, I am working with my community to create a visual and auditory archive highlighting our intersectional identities.
Overall, the materiality and element of touch are central to both the creation and experience of these works. In designing Skin to Skin, it was important to create a space that reflects the intimacy of cultural beauty practices while simultaneously removing barriers to viewer interaction. Skin to Skin is an invitation to celebrate the power of intergenerational and intersectional storytelling.
Recommended Citation
Morgan, Angeline, "Skin to Skin: A Mixed-Media Exploration of the Inheritance of Identity" (2024). Honors Theses. 3027.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/3027
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