Live Canvas is a collection of self-portraits that challenges the insecurities caused by my chronic skin condition, dermatographia.
Growing up, unsolicited remarks about the sudden appearance of blotchy redness across my skin dramatically impacted my sense of self-worth and have had a lasting effect throughout my life.
This series reimagines and challenges existing narratives, both on a personal and societal level. Photography has enabled me not only to accept my skin condition, but above all to celebrate it as a powerful storytelling medium that questions patriarchal notions surrounding the female body and women’s place in society.
Using my skin condition as a canvas is also a physical and logistical challenge. While the actual shoot might take a couple of hours, I do a great deal of meticulous work in the weeks beforehand during testing and rehearsals.
Every self-portrait is different—an individual piece of work, a puzzle I am determined to solve. Sometimes I draw on my skin from scratch; other times, I press objects onto my body, and quite often I combine both techniques. This is the most difficult approach because of the critical importance of timing. The drawings begin to appear and swell after around ten minutes, meaning I am often estimating and shooting in the dark. Meanwhile, pressed patterns remain satisfyingly clear for only a brief minute. Throughout testing, this live canvas often disintegrates into blotchy, unintelligible patterns. My sensitive skin requires time to reset, and I cannot start over without allowing it to rest for hours. I need to know exactly what I am doing on the day—my window of opportunity is mercilessly narrow.
Despite the frustrations, I view this process as a way of taking control of my condition and of my bodily autonomy as a whole. Live Canvas examines the boundaries of photography as both a medium of documentation and a form of artistic expression.
The Awakening is an autobiographical self-portrait inspired by my experience of living with a chronic skin condition, alongside my recent exploration of the world of science fiction. This work explores the idea of self-awareness and questions the notion of the pre-programming of who we are supposed to be, whether dictated by societal conditioning, computer coding, or design.
Influenced by science-fiction masterpieces ranging from one of the earliest explorations of man-made life in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to the more recent HBO series Westworld, I examine how artificial intelligence and, in particular, android “hosts” are rendered through the specific vision of their creator. This extends from the pre-programmed scripts that drive their very existence to the absence of unaccounted-for scars, moles, or birthmarks. In The Awakening, I use the unexpected markings left by the revolver as a metaphor for the birth of consciousness, with all its consequences.
On a practical level, the physical and logistical challenges involved in using my skin as a canvas amplify the metaphorical struggle for control over my own narrative. The process represents reclaiming my bodily autonomy and breaking free from a pre-programmed identity.
With the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, this work also poses the question: Where is the gun?
About Iness Rychlik
Iness Rychlik is a Polish-born artist based in the UK. Despite living with severe myopia, she has been dedicated to visual storytelling since her early teens.
Rychlik is recognized for her dark, surreal self-portraits, which explore themes of pain, solitude, and vulnerability. As she lives with a chronic skin condition, she uses her own body as a canvas for artistic expression. Her work draws on deeply personal experiences, often reflecting on growing up in a conservative and patriarchal society. The subtle elegance of Rychlik’s compositions contrasts with an underlying sense of brutality. Her conceptual photographs are intended to provoke the viewer’s imagination rather than satisfy it.
Her work has been featured by The British Journal of Photography, Cultura Inquieta, Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, Hi-Fructose Magazine, L’Officiel Italia, Architectural Digest, K MAG, BBC Scotland, and Fotografiska. [Official Website]
