Being Plucked

Suzanne Corcessin’s “Being Plucked” (“Être à Fleur de Peau”) utilizes unconventional textiles to argue against the notion that bird plucking and hair removal are neutral actions. Suzanne Corcessin views these acts as political, maintaining colonial and gendered hierarchies. Through bird plucking and the aesthetics of hair removal, bodies historically have been controlled and objectified.

The installation employs latex, textiles, silicone, and feathers to create textures that confront viewers with conflicting emotions, provoking new perspectives on the debate over hair removal. In this everyday decision and product debate, the question arises: Who decides what is right or wrong, beautiful or unattractive?

“Being Plucked” questions underlying assumptions and illuminates the political dimensions of decisions about one’s body. By creating textiles that evoke discomfort, Suzanne Corcessin urges a shift in the perception of the act of hair removal, breaking through the colonial and gendered structures often associated with this topic.