Starting Point, Theme and Subject Matter

I became interested in skin textures after reading The Sick Rose (Disease and the art of medical
Illustration) by Richard Barnett. I was intrigued by the 18 th century medical illustrations of skin
diseases that reminded me of both geographical landscapes and edible substances. Conflictingly,
they appeared both beautiful and ugly; the incredible detail of the images are captivating, in contrast
to the repulsive subject matter. One particular quote in the book by William Hazlitt, encapsulates the
aesthetic value that can be found in science, as it is with art:

“The Anatomist is delighted with a coloured plate, conveying the

exact appearance of the progress of certain diseases, or of the internal parts
and dissections of the human body. As a florist with a bed of tulips, or an
auctioneer with a collection of Indian shells… The learned amateur is struck
with the beauty of the coats of the stomach laid bare, or contemplates with
eager curiosity the traverse section of the brain… and overcomes the sense of
pain and repugnance, which is the only feeling that the sight of a dead and
mangled body presents to ordinary men. It is the same in art as in science.”

This quote serves as the underlying theme of my work; it urged me to An illustration from the
consider the fascinating collaboration between science and art. While the book showing diseases
anatomist dissects the body, the artist captures the moment. I became on dissected organisms
interested in combining the disciplines of art with my pre-existing knowledge
of Biology, creating and manipulating bodily textures that bring the unseen, internal surfaces to the
outside. I wanted to encourage spectators to consider not only their outer selves, but also the
beauty and grotesque that exists physically inside of them. After participating in a clay workshop, I
became confident enough to use clay and decided on this medium to explore my theme, as I could
mold and express the textures I wanted. My initial research and development involved asking a
friend who studied Biomedical sciences for lecture slides on this topic to enhance my understanding
of the subject matter and how skin diseases caused disfiguration. I then printed out illustrations
from The Sick Rose and drew abstract figures that were composed of cell-like elements (slide 3),
recreating those sketches using clay.

Clay Works – Tetricis Massaosis (slide 3-4), Landscape (slide 5-6) and Platter (slide 7,9)
Following the methodology of scientists and generic style of disease naming, I named the clay
sculpture Tetricis Massaosis, Latin translation for crusty lump of infestation. The small scale and
highly detailed designs of these clayworks, especially in Landscape and Platter, were to purposely
pique the interest of the viewer to come close and explore these sculptures. The mix of brightly
coloured micro-organisms in Platter, resembles a platter of food, hence its title. This generates an
element of unease as the use of bright colours, make these strange objects look delectable from a
distance. However, upon closer inspection, the viewer realizes the shapes are somewhat bodily; the
forms and textures are reminiscent of cell structures that one can find in science textbooks.

Post 17th Condition – Negative and Positive Impact

The plan was to continue creating a sculptural series for Landscapes and Tetricis Massaosis, as well
as creating small paintings as a response to my clay sculptures. Having no access to the studio and
necessary materials for clay and painting, alternated my approach towards digital manipulation on
photoshop. This process was challenging as I was not completely familiar with using the program.
Therefore, it took time to familiarize myself with photoshop before I could produce work, compared
to something that is done manually like painting. However, it became a good opportunity to expand
my repertoire of artistic practice, as I’ve worked with traditional medias and not digital art. Hence,
 the amount of time spent on digital art is now part of my practise. Throughout the experimental
process, I gradually became confident in editing images of real-life dissections of skin diseases, with
photographs of my clay object together (slide 11). It transitioned from noticeably edited into more
natural-looking images (slide 12). Unlike clay, I was able to create intricate details and compositions
that would be extremely hard to achieve in real life, especially for the piece Capsule (slide 23-25).
Since it was easy to adjust the hues and saturation of the image, I was bolder in approaching
different colour schemes that I would not have tried in painting.

Digital Series - Tetricis Massaosis (slide 11-17)

Impressions (slide 13) is where I looked at scarring caused by skin diseases. The scar textures and
discoloration on the surface of the skin were like engravings, maps that show the path of where the
disease has left its prints. One of the lecture slides sparked my interested in diagnostic scans carried
out on gross morphology subjects. This was the turning point in my development of artworks, as I
started to recreate imaging scans of my clay sculpture as the gross morphology subject. I researched
into various imaging techniques i.e. CT, MRI, Ultrasound, PET scans, and noticed how different scans
can visualize certain parts of the human body in more detail. The Scan Series (slide 14-16) is where I
explore the characteristics of these imaging techniques. In The Mutation Series (slide 17), I ‘find’
abnormal cells in the three stages of Tetricis Massaosis’s cell cycle when its cells divide. The white
cells represent the instructions for making a protein has been turned off due to a mutation, as the
cell cycle progresses more mutations appear.

Lecture slide for Gross Morphology Top: Ice pick scars

Top: Real image of scan and gross Top: Actual scans of the Below: Scar texture
morphology subject brain recreated digitally
Bottom: Digital work and clay Below: The Scan Series
sculpture
Landscape of Cytoplasm Series (slide 19-21) and Capsule (Slide 22-25)
Gross morphology focuses on the general aspects of biological form and
arrangement of the organism, rather than its functions. Therefore, I sketched out the inner cell
structures of Tetricis Massaosis just like a real organism (slide 18). Part of the cell includes the
cytoplasm (a thick solution that fills the inside), the piece Landscape of Cytoplasm (1-3) is where I
only use digitally created textures, to portray cell-like objects intertwined and suspended in the
cytoplasm. My research on the artist, David Mcleod, changed my direction from literal
representation towards abstract. In the piece Capsule, the work is a mix of reality and abstraction as
I make connections to both the natural and artificial world. I no longer used scientific images of cells
but rather combined both digital and real-life textures. My aim was to create a conflicting sense of
oddness and bodily awareness, by fusing photographs of daily objects with parts of the body.

Deconstruction of Tetricis Massaosis Series (Slide 26-28)

Looking at the style of work made previously, I wanted to move away from representational into
basic abstraction. The
turning point came about
from my research on the
artist Philip Allen. I was
intrigued by his painterly abstractions that
were reminiscent of cellular structures. The way his compositions are
deconstructed into sections of colour, texture and form, was an
element I wanted to investigate further. As the title suggests, the series
showcases the deconstruction of my clay sculpture - Tetricis Massaosis,
into basic geometric shapes and simple colour palette. The colours for the first image were derived
from clay object, and the others were different gradients I experimented with. I purposely chose a
paint-like texture for the digital piece to imitate impastos in reference to Philip Allen.

Direction of Practice going forward

I want to delve into the idea of blurring the line between reality and fiction in my artworks. For the
clay sculptures, I want to utilize the natural tendency of associating bright colours with food, to
create an olfactory stimulation whereby I apply scented oil to different parts of the sculpture. As the
spectator leans in to have closer look, they would unexpectedly smell cotton candy in areas of pink;
lemon for yellow, vanilla for grey etc. For the digital images of Tetricis Massaosis, I would focus on
blowing up certain sections (below) and screen-printing them out onto A0 paper. These sections
could then be connected together to form yet another abstract landscape.
Since the Scan Series is based on actual imaging, by screen-printing the work onto acetate sheets
and install light panels behind them, it would add to the realism. The lines between digital and
reality would be unclear as the spectator ponders whether it is real, they start to analyse the scan
just like what a scientist would do. I am interested in further exploring textures but with paint as I
was not able to physically do so for Deconstruction of Tetricis Massaosis. I would use acrylic to paint
the digital images onto canvases but for some sections, I would change the application of paint and
experiment with mixing other medias to create contrasting textures.