One Body, My Body, No Body: An Investigation Into The Life of An Artist Who Endures an Eating Disorder

"For such a long time, I thought if I was thinner, I would be happier. Instead, quite the opposite occurred, and I became confined to my body"- Zlatar

One Body My Body No Body is an academic-based artist book that utilizes Ally Zlatar's personal experiences and reflective analysis on the lived experience with an eating disorder. The work takes on a unique exploration of her position as an artist and curator experiencing a series of lifelong eating disorders.

While her eating disorder began at the age of 13, she was formerly diagnosed with Anorexia with a Binge Purge Subset at the age of 17. Since then, she has developed a distorted relationship with food, weight, and body image. Her central problem was not so much the external physical ramifications of the illness, but rather the internalized psychological and emotional struggles that she experienced.
Her insider artist-researcher approach is pertinent within this book since there is much need to give voice to those inflicted with eating disorders and to counterbalance the detached ‘clinical’ perceptions of the illness. Her art emerges from this personal experience of these eating disorders and how she represents her body within her artworks. The reality of living with the ‘inner torment’ deriving from these diseases is unbearable. It is incredibly difficult to express how having an eating disorder can impact the self-identity and self-image of someone who is ill.