Ari Wibowo, 16, from Indonesia must soak his body in water every hour and smear himself with lotion to prevent his skin – which he sheds every 41 days – from hardening and leaving him unable to move.
Indonesian doctors said they do not have the resources to treat Ari’s Erythroderma, or ‘red man syndrome’, which has given him his extraordinary appearance.
Photographer Nurcholis Anhari Lubis, 35, has been documenting the condition and says the boy is ‘scaly like a snake’.
‘It’s really sad because he was not born normally and has scaly skin all over his body, similar to being severely burnt, from the sole of his feet up to his head,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘If the boy doesn’t moisturise or soak his skin in water, his body would shrivel and harden up like a sculpture and he won’t be able to move.’
In spite of his condition, Ari and his family are determined to make life as normal as possible – but the ignorance of others in the village has made it hard.
According to Mr Lubis, Ari has had trouble making friends and schools won’t accept him because they fear his illness is contagious.
Ari’s mother has also been accused of torturing lizards while pregnant, as Indonesian superstition says mistreatment of an animal during pregnancy causes the child to resemble the animal.
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