About the piece

The idea for First Flesh began with the simple concept of pairing myself talking about the first time I had sex with the visual image of gutting a fish. One of the reasons that this idea appealed to me was that my "first time" was my first serious experience with the female genitalia, and in the piece I wanted to play with the awful stereotype of female genitals being compared to fish. But the main idea which appealed to me in concept was the contradiction of the discovery of new flesh paired with the destruction of flesh. The discovery of flesh could be epitomized by the first time a person has sexual intercourse; even if the participants came into the experience with a handy knowledge of their own and their partner's genitals, seeing this new use for their combined person would have been an incredible discovery. The destruction of flesh is a fear hard-wired in everybody; having a physicality predisposed towards being injured easily combined with the unavoidable mortality faced by all people makes the destruction of bodies (and especially flesh, our outermost layer of protection and means through which we feel the world) a very effecting concept.

I would like to think that everybody's first sexual experience was a pleasant and exciting one, but realistically I know that is not true. This piece will end up contrasting not only discovery with destruction, but also pleasure with pain, trust with mistrust, and certainty with confusion.