After the Flesh
“Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.” – Corinthians 5:16
“We are careful not to judge people by what they seem to be, though we once judged Christ in this way.” – Contemporary English Version
‘After the Flesh’ is a current working title of a piece of work that incorporates the human skin tanning process
Over the years I have lost a considerable amount of weight (over 6 stone / 38 kg / 84lb). In March 2022 I had a tummy tuck to remove the excess skin that was making me miserable.
After working with the hospital I was able to keep my skin and it had been kept in my freezer with a view to tanning it into leather.
Anything can be an art material !
Preparing the skin before the process.
My skin had been kept in the freezer for 9 months and initially needed defrosting. I took the opportunity to photograph it before the process of tanning would begin. I also removed some of the fat and rendered it.
Day 1 – Scraping the fat and membrane off of the underside of the skin.
I drove down to Exeter to meet with Theresa Emmerich Kamper who had very kindly agreed to guide me through the process of tanning my own skin into leather.
The process began with scraping the fat and membrane from the back of the skin.
We noticed an unusual patch of skin that was peeling. Out initial thoughts were that it had been taken out of the freezer a little too early and that it had begun the decomposition process in one small spot.
Day 2 – Human skin learning curve
After a first night in the tanning solution we noticed that the patch was tanning as expected but that the other parts of the skin were not. Theresa had done a bit of research and discovered that
“It was a waxy layer composed of the dead skin cells which sit on the outermost surface of the epidermis…. I’ve not really run into it in this way before on other species. It may have something to do with the fact that we are very sparsely furred.” – Theresa Emmerich Kamper
We then proceeded to lightly scrape the remaining surface, before putting it back into the tanning solution.
“If it were to be done again, acidifying it like one does with furs would be a good option for removing more of the ground substance and would likely cause the outer layer to slough off more easily and evenly.” – Theresa Emmerich Kamper
Day 3 – Tanning
The tanning solution was a mix of tara and sumac tannin concentrate.
Day 4 – Rinsing and 1st stage of softening
The transformation after just a few days of tanning is significant and the process is complete. After rinsing the back is scraped again to remove any residual membrane as well as to remove as much liquid as possible.
After this it is placed into a bucket of softening solution consisting of a little vegetable oil as well as lecithin and warm water.
Day 5 – Stretching softening and drying
The final stages consisted of a process of oiling and stretching over a variety of tools whilst also receiving short bursts of drying in the tumble dryer!
I am super pleased with the results and it is so strange to visualise this as part of myself.
“The connective tissue is very different from any other skins I’ve worked with. The texture shares some similarities with full thickness pig skin but it has a looser fibre structure.” – Theresa Emmerich Kamper
I am so grateful to Theresa Emmerich Kamper for her expertise and guidance! It was absolutely invaluable and I would not have been able to do this without her!
What a journey!