When presented with anatomy, an artist will often talk of skin, muscle, and bone as they build up the bulk of the visible body. The surface of the figure is analyzed, but what of structures that lie beneath?  Within the body are physiological processes, microanatomy, and chemical reactions in which their complexity and beauty is hidden amongst the organs. The understanding of these structures was brought forth by dissections of cadavers; the martyrs for science giving us their bodies so that others may learn.

 

By portraying microscopic anatomy and animal dissections in a spiritual light, we can honor what we have come to understand from these sacrifices and see the beauty that literally comes from within. My thesis takes biological imagery and places them in reverence as inspired by my Catholic upbringing; seeing tall, gothic stained glass windows and the suffering seen in the Stations of the Cross between.