Artist Makes Pistol Using Her Own Skin

[matcom]

<snip>

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A Dutch artist has used a flap of her own skin to make a replica pistol to be shown at an Amsterdam art show next month, she said Friday.

"I made a pistol to express my concern about violence in society and to show the connection between what a pistol does and the human body," said Joanneke Meester said of the replica, which is about the size of a matchbox.

Meester said she made the tiny replica pistol with a piece of skin -- 20 centimeters (8 inches) long and four centimeters (1.6 inches) high -- surgically removed from her abdomen. The puckered skin was stretched and sewn over a plastic and fiber pistol mold.

Meester said she had the flap of skin removed under local anaesthetic to allow her to make the pistol. The surgery left her with 16 stitches. She froze the skin, then defrosted it to make a replica weapon preserved in formaldehyde.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&ncid=573&e=3&u=/nm/20040426/od_nm/odd_skin_art_dc

[gold_bug]

1. Yuck.

and cuddly toys from pig skin? eww.

[quispquake]

2. Ever heard of "Joe Coleman"

Performance artist extraordinaire...

He did the skin as art thing years ago...

[Dolomite]

3. Feeling a little inadequate now

with my piece of ear wax that looks just like Snoopy.