An ecstatic mix of purples, greens, reds, and yellows flow in and out of one another in FLUID, a new series from Maggie West. Colored lights illuminate her subjects, globs of bodily fluid produced by modern-day renaissance man Christopher Zeischegg, with whom West recently entered a relationship. Better known by his former porn name, Danny Wylde, Zeischegg’s also an accomplished author and one-half of the metalcore duo Chiildren. Mixed in with the images of his blood, spit, and semen are snapshots of West’s own bodily fluids, recreating a chemistry on glass plates that’s usually only limited to the bedroom. Now, the full series appears exclusively on The Creators Project.
“These body fluids are an essential part of both our biological makeup and the procreation process. They simultaneously have the power to transmit deadly diseases and create new life,” West tells The Creators Project. Her repertoire is a devoted study of sexuality in all its facets, from the female and male forms to a book that captures intimate kisses between couples. Unlike other examples of bodily fluid-turned-art, like Andres Serrano’s Piss Christ, Milo Moiré’s vaginal egg excretions, and Sarah Levy’s menstrual Donald Trump portrait, West’s photography doesn’t feel transgressive. “Through this series, I wanted to find an abstract way to examine the beauty of each substance,” she says.
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This isn’t Zeischegg’s first time making blood-related artwork. In a video collaboration with director Matthew Kaundart and visual artist Luka Fisher, he addresses his medical reasons for leaving the porn industry, and how he’s coped ever since. Part of the project involved cutting open his chest and painting with his blood. Those works were then stapled back onto his chest [link NSFW]. FLUID takes a similar concept and gives it a completely different tone, celebrating the purpose of bodily fluids rather than examining their extraction from the body.
See more of Maggie West’s work on her website, and learn more about Christopher Zeischegg here.
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