There are two ways most people interpret A New Kind Of Beauty, a book of photographs by Phillip Toledano that documents proponents of extreme cosmetic surgery. First, there’s revulsion: “the expected ‘Holy shit! These people look crazy,’ which definitely isn’t the point of the work,” the British photographer tells Slate. “And then there are hopefully some people who understand the point I’m making about the direction we’re headed.”
It’s also easy to feel a bit of both. While body modification is an increasingly accepted mode of personal expression, it’s still a taboo and unnerving topic for many of us--even more so when seen in the razor sharp detail of Toledano’s lens.
For
many, plastic surgery is a tool that can be used to reveal someone’s true identity. Others see the upward spike in body mod as an indicator of the immense societal pressure to attain a specific standard of beauty and youth--look no further than the booming labiaplasty industry for proof of that. Toledano articulates the ambiguity with a volley of questions: “When we remake ourselves, are we revealing our true character, or are we stripping away our very identity?” Perhaps we are creating a new kind of beauty. An amalgam of surgery, art, and popular culture?”
Still, the photographer is quick to point out that there’s a whole spectrum of reasons--good and bad--why people modify their bodies surgically. He describes his subjects as “the vanguard of human-induced evolution,” proof that cosmetic surgery goes hand in hand with a whole host of other developments, like wearable tech. “In 50 or 100 years time, I think humanity won’t look like it does today because of technology,” he says. “We will be able to redefine what it means to look human, and I think these people are the vanguard of that type of evolution.”
So are these photographs of early adopters? Considering how frequently we talk about body-modding technology these days (stamp-on-skin circuits, anyone?), that assessment isn’t far off the bat
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