Taxidermisch Laboratorium
Visual artist Amber Veel, trained at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, has a fascination for skin. In her Taxidermisch Laboratorium (Taxidermy Laboratory) she researches the phenomenon of skin. She puts the skin in a specific context and questions its shape, structure, narratives and life span. This leads, along with knowledge and skills, also to new materials, textiles, objects and autonomous work.
Amber: “I find it hard to accept that after death the skin decays. To keep skin near to me, I have delved deeply into skin conservation methods. Tanning is one of these methods. In my ‘Looi-studie-project’ (Tanning-study-project), I study the diversity, scope and applicability of a large variety of tanning methods and tanning ingredients.”
“One of these methods is vegetable tanning, which happens with liquids from plants and trees. I have analyzed this method and experimented with it, dissected it and converted it into objects which, in turn, tell something about the skin.”