Memory on the bodies

The emerging bourgeoisie in the XIX century established a hierarchized classification of the body. The body is a battlefield, a territory to impose ethics and aesthetics that propose an imaginary superiority between one body and another. This approach of power against the body brings up as a result disciplines like eugenesic, phrenology or anthropology; disciplines that bring tools to classify, measure and highlight the different parts of the body. In this context, the nose is an specific element that allows these measure systems to analyze the state of civilization. The ideal body becomes a global parameter and the artifacts to imitate it become more inventive every day.

One of the most representative inventions regarding this topic is the nasal corrector. The nose must be fine and elongated; the nasal corrector is an object that can be used daily, is cheaper than a surgery and allows the user to slimline its nose to create a nordic look. From my point of view this object responds to the necessity of domesticating those bodies that don't belong to the established standards; there's a will to transform them to create a sort of sense. On the other hand it allows the person who uses it to create different relations with the world, to be another person. The nasal corrector is just a little piece of plastic but it becomes an element of memory.