MELANIN SYNTHES

A speculative story of an aging scientist who, driven by existential angst and the ambition to reverse the effects of aging,
embarks on a daring experiment with a willing participant. Together, they achieve a
breakthrough, but it leads to unforeseen consequences. He creates the first of the Melanin Synthes.

During the one-week photography workshop Melanin Matters, a collaboration between
Goethe-Institut Lagos, the Nlele Institute, and the University of Mainz (CRC 1482 Human
Differentiation), we were tasked with creating a project centered on the theme of skin.
For a while now, I’ve been exploring the boundaries between human, posthuman, and
transhuman concepts, inspired by speculative artists whose work imagines the potential of biotechnological interventions. Skin, to me, feels like a map—a visible timeline that holds the story of our lives through its texture and transformations. This awareness of decay, of aging, raises questions: what if we could redraw this map? How would changing the physical codes of our bodies, especially in something as intimate as skin, alter our sense of self? And what might we risk losing in the pursuit of youth?
These "what ifs" invite questions around identity, otherness, and future speciation. Standing at the crossroads of experimentation and the unknown, I’m drawn to the conversations and research that explore these possibilities.