4 £ SOAP

  • Arthur Perry
The average human body contains 4lbs of bacteria. I chose to represent this as a block of soap, sweet smelling, soft to the touch, home made with shea butter. The smell evoked memories of childhood for me. We are always seeking to decrease the amount of bacteria on our skin, but how much do we really know about it? A visual representation of the weight of the average amount of bacteria contained in a human body surprises the "average human". "All this is in me?" What are we if not tower blocks of bacteria, constantly changing.
The paper towels depict the NHS guide of how to properly clean your hands, the ink is mixed with uv powder, so even after people washed their hands with the oversized soap, then dried them off. Under the UV light at the end of the installation the participant would then see that they are still covered in something, drawing attention to the participants own microbiome.
This short video seeks questions the viewer perception on their sense of self.