Hidden Beneath
This unit of work began with the idea of producing work based on something that you want to do in the future. For me, this is going to university to study Radiography. This is what began the ideas of this project towards X rays and the human body. It's to show that there is more than meets the eye but underneath we are all made up of the same stuff.
Radiography could be seen as a form of photography, but rather than using light to create the images you are using waves of radiation. Different types of tissue in the body absorb X-rays at different levels, the image on the film lets you see different structures inside the body because of the different levels of exposure on the film.
With many injuries through sporting incidents radiography and x-rays have always been part of my life. My interest initially came from the idea of medical photography which I was introduced to when having photographs taken of my teeth to prep for a possible jaw operation. With only one University offering this course to me Radiography was another similar subject to photography that would include my interest in science. I love the simplicity but depth of the images that get produced but yet they are able to show so much which is unseen.
Radiography could be seen as a form of photography, but rather than using light to create the images you are using waves of radiation. Different types of tissue in the body absorb X-rays at different levels, the image on the film lets you see different structures inside the body because of the different levels of exposure on the film.
With many injuries through sporting incidents radiography and x-rays have always been part of my life. My interest initially came from the idea of medical photography which I was introduced to when having photographs taken of my teeth to prep for a possible jaw operation. With only one University offering this course to me Radiography was another similar subject to photography that would include my interest in science. I love the simplicity but depth of the images that get produced but yet they are able to show so much which is unseen.
Looking at Andrew Carnie’s Magic Forest which is based on the idea of nerves developing creates a breathtaking visualisation and realisations of what is actually there inside all of us. This was originally created for the exhibition ‘Head On’ in the Museum of Neurology and The Brain. His moving visualisations bring the viewer into the picture by creating a sea of neurones before them.
His work of the magic forest was created by having 2 projectors which project the 5 minute cycle of moving images onto 3 semi-transparent panels of plastic. The magic forest will grow in front of people who watch as they stand in the nothingness of the black around the nerves. He shows the story of how one neurone with complexity and fragility that starts small can expand and become something so important when working with so many others. The way that the vast size of the installation can make the viewer feel so small making them feel like they could be an observer in someone’s brain watching the growth of nerves and the brain making so many connections through their life.
http://scienceandart--andrew-carnie.blogspot.co.uk/
I created my own series of images inspired by his work using brightly coloured trees.
His work of the magic forest was created by having 2 projectors which project the 5 minute cycle of moving images onto 3 semi-transparent panels of plastic. The magic forest will grow in front of people who watch as they stand in the nothingness of the black around the nerves. He shows the story of how one neurone with complexity and fragility that starts small can expand and become something so important when working with so many others. The way that the vast size of the installation can make the viewer feel so small making them feel like they could be an observer in someone’s brain watching the growth of nerves and the brain making so many connections through their life.
http://scienceandart--andrew-carnie.blogspot.co.uk/
I created my own series of images inspired by his work using brightly coloured trees.
Work that has been inspired by Andrew Carnie - Magic Forest
The idea of having nerves is something that had been taken from reality and he has made it into something that is his own abstract interpretation of nerves and how they develop. This gets created through the use of different sizes and colours of the nerves. They extend through the page as they would extend through the body.
The idea of having nerves is something that had been taken from reality and he has made it into something that is his own abstract interpretation of nerves and how they develop. This gets created through the use of different sizes and colours of the nerves. They extend through the page as they would extend through the body.
I feel that some of my developmental work is very similar to that of his at this stage because of the way that he has tried to portray the movement out of the brain and into the body. This is the same effect that I wanted to show with the x-rays and animal recreations.
With an interest in Radiography and human anatomy the placement of the coloured nerves into an x-ray of a skill provided a perfect way to develop the idea of the forest to nerves and the body. I started with the nerves developing from the spine as everyone knows that the spinal cord contains the nerves through to the rest of your body.
With an interest in Radiography and human anatomy the placement of the coloured nerves into an x-ray of a skill provided a perfect way to develop the idea of the forest to nerves and the body. I started with the nerves developing from the spine as everyone knows that the spinal cord contains the nerves through to the rest of your body.
I moved on to look at the work of scanographer Giang Nguyen Hoang who also worked with x- rays. He created the idea of a brain through the use of balls of wool. I think that his images show an obscured view of what is within but yet also shows the brain. When trying to create images in the same way it was hard to get the lighting right. To try and take inspiration from the artist I took the idea of using wool to represent the brain by looping it around and creating the possible idea of thoughts and actions.
The wool appears bright, colourful and touchable where as his work was darkened and mysterious. Even by changing the wool to grey scale colours they are still appealing to touch. Overlaying a darker colour on top enables the picture creates a darker and less appealing.
When recreating his work the wool I used appears bright, colourful and touchable where as his work was darkened and mysterious. Even by changing the wool to grey scale colours they are still appealing to touch. Overlaying a darker colour on top enables the picture creates a darker and less appealing.
The wool appears bright, colourful and touchable where as his work was darkened and mysterious. Even by changing the wool to grey scale colours they are still appealing to touch. Overlaying a darker colour on top enables the picture creates a darker and less appealing.
When recreating his work the wool I used appears bright, colourful and touchable where as his work was darkened and mysterious. Even by changing the wool to grey scale colours they are still appealing to touch. Overlaying a darker colour on top enables the picture creates a darker and less appealing.
I experimented with many different techniques to attempt to create images that appear to be similar to x-rays, I have done this through getting hold of a deer’s head and with access to skulls I was able to create a stacked image of both the head and the skull. The light behind helps to emphasise the shape of the skull, similar to that of the darkened skull of the dark room images.
I have also created a series of images which have also been created through the idea of layering different pictures together. I went and photographed some sheep and found that by overlaying the image of the skull on top of the image of the sheep it forms an idea of a generated x-ray specifically to the area of the head. I took the equipment outlines from the original x-ray to help create the x- ray effect and make it more believable. I found that this worked really well so created a series of images based on this idea and technique. This then lead to another supporting study of the individual skulls inverted to create a blue colour scheme and I have created a similar sequence to Andrew Carnies work with the use of the deer and the trees to represent the nerves flowing around the body. From biology I have learnt that there is a large amount of nerves that are in the ears and felt that it would be a suitable place to have some of the trees extending to.
I initially followed on from the overlaid pictures by using pictures of pigs brains inverted so that they are also blue and link together with the inverted skulls. I then decided to boil the brains in the hope that it added a bit of stability and structure to them. Then came up with the idea to create a cast of the brains using silicon and plaster of paris. To this cast I decided to paint a nerve shape in paint which can be shown under UV light. This meant that when the light was shone on the cast the painted parts glowed a blue colour. I created a series of photographs which I then when put into a film where I moved the UV light around the cast.
Angela Palmer creates incredibly detailed 3-Dimensional views of CT and MRI scans using multiple layers of glass layered together with drawings or engravings to create the effect. This method allowed her to expose the extraordinary inner architecture concealed beneath the surface of the human form. The images appear to float and can be only viewed from certain angles.
Once I had created the MRI image I decided to link back to Andrew Carnie by placing in the trees under the layer to bring the idea of the brain and nerves being underneath.
I decided to try and use the layered picture in the dark room to create an image to see what kind of effect it had. From where you place the pen onto the acetate it creates a thicker layer of ink and in the dark room this made it look like fibre optics with light travelling through them.
I then repeated this style with a series of head MRIs. I feel that this should have been done bigger but due to the image sizing it would have been hard to see the detail when enlarging it. From this I created a final layered picture of every other layer. Once I had created the MRI image I decided to link back to Andrew Carnie by placing in the trees under the layer to bring the idea of the brain and nerves being underneath.
With the idea that by having created the line drawings I would then be able to increase the size of the drawing through the scanner and then retrace the drawing that I had already created. This meant that I was able to create another larger drawing. I then took this into the dark room to create another photogram of the lines with the same effect as the knee image.
I then repeated this style with a series of head MRIs. I feel that this should have been done bigger but due to the image sizing it would have been hard to see the detail when enlarging it. From this I created a final layered picture of every other layer. Once I had created the MRI image I decided to link back to Andrew Carnie by placing in the trees under the layer to bring the idea of the brain and nerves being underneath.
With the idea that by having created the line drawings I would then be able to increase the size of the drawing through the scanner and then retrace the drawing that I had already created. This meant that I was able to create another larger drawing. I then took this into the dark room to create another photogram of the lines with the same effect as the knee image.
My final pieces have been inspired by the X-RAYS PLEASE DO NOT BEND found on the folders in which x-rays would get stored in at the hospitals. Before they became computerised, they would have easily been damaged by getting bent. The background of the pieces is a copy of an x-ray folder and the images placed over are to show the great detail that is available to be shown through the x-rays, the other 2 images show my interpretations of x-rays which were created through the use of many different layers.