Doll Flesh

“All the anomalies seduce us, in the first place life, anomaly for excellence.” Cioran Milan, Italy 2011 Vittoria is a transsexual of German origins born forty-eight years ago in Brazil. Shortly after her twenties she decided to change her body into that of a woman, she passed through more than 300 injections of liquid silicone in her face, chest and buttocks. In order to do that the meat must be detached from the muscles to create space for the silicone and the process is slow and painful; through a mix of hormone treatments along with silicone injections, she eventually got what she wanted: a beautifully shaped body. Four months after the operation Vittoria discovers to be intolerant to the liquids she injected into her body and begins to feel very sick. The problem is that liquid silicone, once inserted into the body, is almost impossible to eliminate. Vittoria starts then receiving cortisone treatments. However, given the huge quantity of silicone she had in her body, normal dosages were not enough and so she had to take the highest quantity possible. Vittoria moved to Italy and, over twenty years later now, the silicone is now almost fused with her body but there are also granulomas and nodules highly concentrated in the areas of injections. Her body has now degenerated also her internal organs have been damaged very seriously by the intoxication that lasted for many years. The pains are very strong, and even trivial things like sleeping or walking can become extremely tiring. On top of that, after all these years of cortisone-based treatments, that she gets illegally from Brazil, collateral effects are consuming her. She is then squeezed from two sides, intoxication and its cure. Now Vittoria is waiting for an operation to remove inflamed tissues grouped and merged with the silicone, a very risky one because removing the tissue can damage vital arteries. If the operation were to succeed, her body will change dramatically for the umpteenth time. Vittoria continues to work as a prostitute along a highway near Milan, but she never gets undressed with her clients because she doesn’t want them to be aware of her condition. In her spare time she custom builds Barbie dolls; she buys naked plastic bodies and then she dresses them up, transforming the old body in something completely new and unconventional. Her talent is really appreciated in the world of the “custom Barbie making”.