Suspension of Disbelief (continued...)

The cultural significance of suspension is under debate, Valenti cites about 50% of his audience see resonances of the crucifixion, or something similar, however, he states the motivations vary and a lot of the time it’s just achieving something that seem humanly impossible. He has suspended people in the past, and it has been a spiritual and ritualistic thing for them, his clients being students of suspension that dates back hundreds of years to India and Sri Lanka. He believes that there are rituals, which share similar reasons and outcomes to suspension, that are linked to religions and spiritual experiences; such as in different types of Muslim sects, where they would beat themselves to the point of passing out, and even in Christian cultures, there were and are monks that carry out blood rituals.

When piercings started to re-surface again in the 1970s and 1980s, it was targeted to the gay and fetish community, which is an idea that has permeated people’s minds until today. That is one of the assumptions that Valenti encounters a lot; people assume the things he does to his body is because of the pain and to fulfil a fetish. He is quick to acknowledge how individual these experiences are, and for many people, it probably is a fetish thing. He says that he does suspension for the adrenaline and endorphin rush, as well as the nervous energy of building up to a performance. Valenti and his colleague, Ben, created a performance group of about 16 people, where they do suspension as performance art. While they get booked for shows through fetish nightclubs like Hellfire, which supports the idea that suspension and piercings probably is fetishised for many people, they are also booked for more conservative gigs like the Opera Bar. Last year, they did a total of 8 shows and in the last month and a half, they did 2 shows, which Valenti says is very uncomfortable, as they didn’t have enough time to heal between shows, because of the amount of movement required by the performers.

Polymorph may offer seemingly intimidating practices to people who aren’t part of this subculture or lifestyle, but Valenti says one of the most important things to him is bedside manner. “The reason we operate the way we do in the studio is because I think the hardest thing for someone to do is walk through the door and ask you a question… I don’t see the point in making someone feel uncomfortable when they are getting something done, which makes them feel so vulnerable.” By just walking into the studio, you can see the difference between this clean, privately owned space with friendly workers compared to walking into a seedier, biker-type tattoo/piercing studio. All the piercers are dealing with and accommodating to customers, and in the corner, there is a group of people who appear to be just hanging out in the studio.

Valenti does deal with people projecting clichéd stereotypes onto him, particularly when he visits his mum in the Western suburbs. However, as he pointed out, that his body and every individual’s body are immune to censorship politics, while other cultural practices, such as art and literature may be more susceptible. His balance of viewing the body as clinical, while also an artistic site takes on its own political implications. “Well, hell, if it’s the only way I can really express myself without anybody giving me the big ‘fuck off,’ then I’m going to do it.”

Suspension of Disbelief

Censorship and controversy concerning art, literature and culture dates back as far as 3rd Century, and as recently as the 20th and 21st Century. From the 3rd Century in China, the Qin Dynasty burnt books that represented a threat to the dominant or prevailing order. The Nazi book burnings in the 1930s and 1940s destroyed books by Jewish, or perceived degenerate authors. Picasso delivered Les Demoiselles d’Avignon in 1907, which represented a group of prostitutes as opposed to the traditional passive woman, which challenged the contemporary art community. Even in May, 2008, Bill Henson’s exhibition opened to a private viewing, and was cancelled soon after due to complaints and anxiety that it was too close to child pornography. Robert Valenti, who is the director and owner of Polymorph Body Piercing Studio in Newtown, believes that at the end of the day, “[t]he human body is the only thing that… basically you can do whatever you like to, and society, the government can’t actually stop you from doing that; it’s the only thing that politics and the government has no actual control over you. And for them to actually say, ‘no, you can’t put a hole in your body or modify your body in a way you see fit,’ it goes against anyone’s basic human rights.” While using the human body as a statement or protest may cause controversy, it can arguably never be censored. When we consider the Buddhist Monk’s self-immolation during the Vietnam War, or even of suicide as a form of self-representation, Valenti’s use of body modification can also be seen as a challenge to what is socially acceptable.

Valenti has two eyebrow piercings, one in his left and one in his right. He has a large labret piercing/plug, about 20mm in diameter, and two conch piercings, which is the inner ear cartilage, and they are 8mm in diameter. He has stretched earlobes that are 33mm, which took about two and half to three years to stretch. He has 3 small implants around his left eye, 2 transdermal implants as horns on his forehead, and a transdermal Mohawk. He has faint scarification on his forehead, as well as some lines on his chin. His nipples are pierced at 8-gage, which is about 3mm thick, as well as his 3mm thick naval piercing. On the shaft of his penis, he has 3 bead implants, and a 6-gage, Prince Albert piercing, about 4mm thick at the end. Valenti also has tattoos, one design of a cartoon-esque rooster chasing a duck, a half angel and half devil, the Mother Mary, his family tree in contemporary Maori art and another tribal design.

So how does Valenti do it? How does he cope with inflicting pain upon his own body and the body of others? Renaissance art and literature viewed the body as sacred, and Modern day science sees the body as a site of empiricism, a clinical exploration ground. Valenti has created a balance between viewing the body as clinical, as well as a type of text, or artwork, which is evident when you look at Valenti himself. He says that, “[d]ealing with other people’s blood, skin, really doesn’t phase me… I’ve always had an interest in the human body. Before I wanted to be a piercer, which I told mum I wanted to do when I was about 6 or 7, before that, it was brain surgery.” Polymorph offers anything from basic piercings and stretching through to heavier modification, branding and scarification as well as ritual suspension, where hooks are placed in the skin and the person is suspended. Their website, highlights anthropological concerns in different cultures to stretch piercing and scarification which dates back as far as the Aztecs, and Valenti thinks that probably further than that. In tribal cultures, it was to mark a certain event in a person’s life, such as birth, marriage or death. However, in today’s society, where there is no tribal structure, he says that we do body modification for different and usually aesthetic reasons, whether it is for fashion, or changing their own body in a way more acceptable to the individual.


(to be cont...)

Polymorph and Valenti

A couple of years ago I saw Robert Valenti, an owner of a piercing studio, being interviewed by Andrew Denton, and I have been keen to meet him since then. He seemed so personable, interesting and intelligent. I wasn’t too worried about going and asking him to do the interview, as I thought it would probably be a little stroke to his ego that someone saw him on television and wanted to find out more about him.

Before I spoke to him, and then even more when we were doing the interview, I recognised how many assumptions and stereotypes I adhered to. One of the first things I said was how I was surprised at how lovely he was on Andrew Denton. As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I thought to myself; ‘Why should I be surprised that he was nice?’ I like to think that I don’t often judge people, and I try to steer clear of stereotypes and clichés, so the interview was really beneficial for me, because I can see how I am always forming opinions in my head. I spoke openly to him about this, that I was surprised at myself for believing the stereotype that piercing and tattoo artists are scary bikers– and he was so understanding, and part of his reason for modifying his body the way he sees fit is to shock people and prove when they do talk to him, that he is not that much of a ‘freak show.’

I’m going to put up the article I wrote in two bits… because I think it may be a bit long for one read

p.s be sure to look at the website of the piercing studio when I put up the link. Hectic photos.