How’s your day going so far? Pretty well? Free of, say, deep-set feelings of discomfort and existential disgust and a body horror that makes you want to just launch yourself into the nearest black hole? If so, great. But how’d you like to change that? If you feel like your day has been too free of such terrors, allow me to introduce you to a 2020ish Toyota Camry that has had its interior redone in what looks just like human skin, down to having pores, moles, blemishes, and hair. Oh, and a nipple. There’s at least one nipple in there.
Yes, a car interior slathered in human skin! It’s as good as it sounds! The skin can also redden and, significantly, get sunburned. Because that’s the real point of this car, not making you want to stop being a corporeal being altogether, but rather to make you more aware of the dangers of skin cancer, and in that context, it does a pretty good job.
The car was commissioned by Australia’s mycar Tyre & Auto and is designed to bring about more skin cancer awareness, as Australia has one of the highest skin cancer rates in the world. The car’s interior is upholstered in a (thankfully) synthetic material that reacts to UV exposure in much the same way as human skin, so you can see how much risk there is even while you’re inside your car.
The company worked with an expert in the field, Dr. Jo Maitz, Burns Surgeon-Scientist at Concord Hospital in Sydney, who describes the experiment as
“…an important reminder to drivers and their passengers to understand the UV risk and protect themselves.”
Dr. Maitz also worked closely with the team that made the Sunburnt Car, who normally specialize in creature and prosthetic special effects, so they’re very used to replicating highly-realistic-looking skin. Damian Martin and Adam Johansen were the principal craftspeople behind the interior, and they did a fantastic job, both based on the metrics of accuracy and demonstrating the effects of sun on skin and on how absolutely mind-scramblingly disturbing the end result is.
It’s so creepy. The hair:
Hair is bad on a dashboard, but somehow it’s even worse on a seat:
…and I think this is some sort of scab?
…and holy crap, they actually did it, I think this is a nipple, a mothergrabbing nipple:
It’s terrifying. And look, I get it’s for a good cause, and while this video from a local news channel states the “intention wasn’t to make people feel discomfort”:
…there’s no way they weren’t aware of the gut-level impact a car full of skin and hair and pores and nipples would have on people. I mean, that’s why I’m writing about this now. Because it makes me feel so very uncomfortable. Now I know how a Christmas tree must feel when it’s dragged into a wood-paneled den. Terror. Blind, unconscious terror.
It sort of reminds me of the work of photographer Charlie White. He tends to use props that are disturbingly biological, like whatever the hell this woman is manipulating there:
Whatever that is, it would be right at home as, say, the gearshift in this cursed Camry. Look, mycar Tyre & Auto, I think you accomplished whatever you needed to accomplish with this thing. I’m thinking about skin and skin cancer and whatever. Mission accomplished.
Now please kindly launch this abomination into the sun.
Top graphic images: mycar Tyre & Auto
Their next project is made with synthetic Dalmatian skin
Changing gears must be an adventure.
Most men think 5th gear is a myth
The only car where if you rest your hand on the gearstick, the stick gets bigger.
That recalls the Cadillac ad from the late oughts–“When you turn car on, does it return the favor?”
Does the gear shift get bigger and harder the more you shift?
In the “Fast and Furious”, Toretto had to open the sunroof somewhere past 10th gear, and was forced out of the driver’s seat when he went past 22nd gear….
Perfect for the librarian in charge of the anthropodermic bibliopegy Collection at Harvard.
At least none of the hairs are curly………..perhaps the shifter knob?
Bonus if it grows when you touch it.
No just a clump down by the base
Suddenly that Dartz whale penis interior doesn’t seem so bad anymore.
This car comes with a choice of 4skins
The stereo only has a tape deck that loops a cassingle of Q Lazarus’ “Goodbye Horses” endlessly.
I was thinking it could alternately loop Baz Luhrmann’s “Everybody’s Free (to Wear Sunscreen)”.
I’ll allow it, lol.
This makes you queasy? The Tobe Hooper Society should revoke your honorary Chainsaw Massacre membership and repossess your skin mask.
That membership is permanent. Even Leatherface is terrified of Torch’s work on the Changli batteries.
Those were my good eyes!
Automoboobile
Based on that scar, I think we can say the car won’t be getting polio.
I think you’re thinking of the smallpox vaccine.
It rubs the lotion on its dashboard and puts it in the glovebox.
It puts the lotion on.
Sorry. Couldn’t help it.
Buffalo Bill is such a catch:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hP0l3002E2g
<3
He sure got Jody Foster’s attention.
Very, very impressive work. How are they with lampshades?
So many levels of Ew! on that one.
Yeah, sorry about that one, kinda.
No worries. If you check, you’ll see I made a lot of questionable comments myself. 🙂
Car magazines used to talk about mouse fur interiors
…and that was the last time an automaker decided to collaborate with David Cronenberg
It’s way less unhinged then I expected. Terrifying stuff fascinating process and probably a good idea to get people thinking. I fully expected some unhinged vegan / peta rant with zero empirical data. I don’t want to see what they do for colon cancer though.
Not sure about skin cancer prevention but it’s potentially a very effective weight loss tool. Certainly killed my appetite.
If anything would stop people eating in the car, this would be it.
On the other hand, if “people eating” is your thing, this is your car.
I try to be open-minded about people modding their cars, but this is too much. I don’t believe they did it to increase skin cancer awareness – they’re a tire (tyre) shop. They did it for publicity.
…and I want a convertible even less now thanks.
The nipple placement is insane
to be fair, is there any place on a car seat where a nipple is rational?
I feel like if anyone on the planet could answer this question, it would be you. When should we expect the article?
The underside so it could feed its young?
Dashboard. Radio knobs.
The nipple is also helpful in determining how cold it is inside the car.
Don’t need a display or screen to show the interior temperature of the car…. Ergonomics… that’s it.
The best spot would be right in the middle of the steering wheel. “Honk honk” indeed
Gross.
I somehow pass out at every blood draw and am extremely squeamish, but I adore the work of Cronenberg. I contain multitudes. And I kind of love this.
Before I read the article, I thought it was the latest PETA stunt.
“Mother…. I got a new Camry”
-Ed Gein, probably.
Is April 1st early?
Ahem, March 32nd.
Apparently, the video was published 7 days ago. I don’t know if that’s worse or better.
It’s almost like when we see the “big game” ads before the actual day.
Its 4/1 in Australia.