do you notice anything else?
we zoom in most times
we are too much in our heads
its like having our picture taken
in front of a famous monument
so that all we can see is ourselves and it
we often forget to zoom out
to see that at that moment
frozen in time
in a picture of four right angles
there was more than just you and it
there was more than just you
zoom out
see yourself through the eyes of an observant
study yourself
the skin that contains a fragile infrastructure of bones
that articulate; to bend the edges of your temple
a body; housing all your thoughts, emotions and feelings
zoom in
to that outer barrier
fascinate yourself with its details
on the outside it looks like a single entity
a long monochromatic sheath wrapped around a skeletal model
but zoom in some more
look at that system of interdependent cells
projecting specialized cells of a different color
that erect and limp
sensing the warmth and cold of your environment
feeling the tactile contact of another skin
the first organ to understand what a touch is
a touch of a mother
the first to transmit a feeling
the feeling of warmth of a fluid womb
it vows from that moment to protect you
to be the first to sense and deliver;
zoom out
look at the people around you
look at their skins meeting
as they shake hands
in encounter
in agreement
in farewell
the darker skins of their lips locking
allowing the plumpness to complement the space between them
to be enveloped by yet another body of sensory skin
to send a current of emotions down its temple
when was the last time?
the last time you permit yourself
to submit yourself to the power of a touch?
your feet touching the ground
your hair on your face
your coffee cup in your hand
are you feeling this?
feel whatever your skin is touching
understand it
process it
we often zoom in
but it’s pixelated
we might get an idea
a hint of what we are looking at
but looking isn’t seeing
allow yourself to see
to get absorbed in this masterpiece
that is you
we don’t often zoom out
zoom out to see more than just a blurry I
look at the bigger picture
remove the frame
allow it to enlarge endlessly
allow the I to communicate
interact
complement
the other colors of that picture
where does the I fall
where do you fall within this picture
are you as important
are you as scared
are you as alone
as you felt zoomed in?
zoom out
there’s more skin to feel
meet someone
as the skin of your hand
closing the spaces between its fingers
fit in their palms
to find a home in yet another envelope of skin
identify the garments
of the fabricated skin covering your body
feel beyond this bark
the air and its temperature
move your skin to bang against this atmospheric body
do you feel it?
watch it get warmer
watch the hairs on your skin supple
as you get intimate with the envelope of gases surrounding it
allow the energy to travel from your skin to its invisible particles
to create an ambience
a traveling medium
one where you can communicate
transmit a feeling
to another skin of yet another body
allow yourself to be a messenger
give in to the power of a touch
feel the lightness of comfort
the heaviness of threat
against your skin
feel the pressure
pushing against this cellular system
study the objects around you
as you wrap them with your skin
move your body to ripple this skin
delivering messages through the air
to reach another lonely skin
of a fragile body
zoom in
zoom out
take a frameless picture
felt then inspired by:
https://www.lucyglendinning.co.uk/our-series/skins/?child
