EPIDERMIS//HYPODERMIS

Borosilicate Glass, Pink Fiberglass insulation

72cm x 92cm x 45cm

2023

Photo Credit

Jim Escalante

The skin functions as a record of lived experience, carrying traces of memory, trauma, and touch. By translating the layered composition of the home into the layered anatomy of the body, I explore the parallels between built and biological systems of containment and support.

Pink fiberglass insulation has become a central material within this investigation. Its fibrous, flesh-toned texture parallels the connective tissues that lie beneath the skin’s surface, evoking both protection and vulnerability. When combined with borosilicate glass, these materials create a dialogue between strength and fragility, transparency and concealment. Together, they form a framework for understanding the body and home as interdependent structures shaped by care, exposure, and decay.

A revolving appendage that slowly morphs over time or an ancient organism preserved through chemical stasis, there is an impulse to see Epidermis// Hypodermis as somatic. Figueroa-Daley's use of pink fiberglass contrasts the strength of construction materials with the delicacy of its flameworked exoskeleton, resulting in a work that recalls the intricacies of inner musculature. There is a physical openness to this work that frames an ever-evolving understanding of our skin.

-Tami Landis, New Glass Review 44 pg.14