Synthetic Skins is part of an ongoing project that deals with the theme of violence. Through the four elements, earth, air, fire and water, Gentili searches for means to reflect on and comprehend the origin of violence.
In Italy the number of abuses against women increased over the last years, but it is the savage killing of Sara di Pietrantonio in 2016 that shocked her deeply, triggering her to create this piece. Synthetic Skins is a two-channel video installation that combines video and performance, with focus on violence against women. It is a rite where a blind primordial female figure is hit by water, a purifying religious element that in this case is used to erase the body when the features of the face are already absent, in reference to acid throwing that many women are subjected to in the world.
The text is from Eurydice by the American poet H. D.
Stills from Synthetic Skins
Excerpt from Synthetic Skins