Artist Ariana Page Russell uses her rare skin condition as a blank canvas
Body art is probably one of the oldest schools of artistic endeavour. Human beings have been embellishing themselves with paints, inks, powders, jewellery and even implants for as long as civilizations have flourished.
Decorating the body is a celebration of human health and beauty. Everyday, millions of people add to the tradition by doing anything from putting on some lipstick to getting a dragon tattoo.
Ariana Page Russell is an artist. Her medium is the human body, but her method is unique and awe inspiring. She has taken advantage of a rare skin disease which she has suffered from since birth called ‘Dermatographism’ and uses the unique situation to create intricate patterns on her skin which fade with time. Though they are short lived, their impermanence doesn’t take away this unique art form.
Dermatographism is a rare skin condition where the cells in the skin release a chemical called histamine in abnormally large amounts, practically anytime they are stretched or irritated. Histamine has a very specific effect on the skin; it increases its blood flow in localized area. Therefore, if you inject a tiny bit of histamine in your skin, that part of the skin will get higher blood flow than normal which leads to redness and swelling. We see the effect of histamine in action whenever we look at a bee sting. The histamine release is what causes the swelling, the redness and even the pain.
In Ariana’s situation, she doesn’t need anything as painful and involved as a bee sting to set off the swelling. All she needs is a mild scratch that creates the desired effect.
By inflicting tiny scratches on her skin, she is able to create intricate and beautiful patterns as an overlay. The process she says is not painful to her at all. The project started in 2003 and she has now used her art form to bring awareness to her issue as well as countless other skin issues which are not commonly understood. She has created an exhibition called SkinTome which highlights her art and the stories of people with this and similar issues.
Dermatographism is a rare disease and we don’t exactly know why people like Ariana always suffer from it. Some infections can cause temporary damage, but a genetic factor is suspected in cases like Ariana’s.
The problem can be managed to some extent with antihistamine medications. Here though, our artist has created an alternate therapy, she turns her disease into an art. If you want to read more about Ariana’s story, I strongly suggest you visit her site, www.skintome.com
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