THE Anatomy Lesson is a body of work that engages in a transhistorical dialogue with 16th century anatomist Andreas Vesalius' work 'De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libris Septem' (1543), considered the most important and influential book in the study of human anatomy. In this illustrated textbook he describes the anatomy of men and women he dissected corpses of during his Paduan Lectures. He carefully describes and examines the female reproductive organs, naming the ovaries 'testes mulieres,' female testicles. Before that, European academics believed that female genital organs were simply lesser versions of male organs, turned inside out. This consideration of the female body from a perspective that takes the male body as the norm, then and now, is what I address in this body of work. The work comprises painting, painterly printmaking, bookmaking and sculpting.
Panel 1, The Aula, of 'THE Anatomy Lesson Triptych' in progress. The painting refers to the cover illustration of the 1543 syllabus 'De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem,' on which Vesalius is portrayed during an anatomical demonstration. 
Video: Inspiration and Progress on panel 1 


​'Paintings of a Torso,' is a series of 9 small sized still-life paintings, 18 by 24 cm, portraying women's torsos clayed first. The clay figurines are an addition to the body of work around the way sixteenth-century anatomists approached and depicted women's bodies and anatomy. In particular how they treated women's reproductive organs, much of it being determined by their views on what the social status was of women in that time. The overall purpose of my work is to artistically address the implications of gender bias in science. The sculptures feel somewhat related to the ancient Venus sculptures, Venus of Willendorf being the most well-known  Very little is known about the Venus' origin, method of creation, or cultural significance. Some authors have coined that the figurines may have been created as self-portraits by women. Others interpret them as a fertility fetish, or a handheld amulet of sorts.
Picture
Studio View working on one of the panels, 'Venus,'  of THE Anatomy Lesson Triptych.
'The Womb,' with clay figurine and process video.


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​Video, 'Torsos' ​Painterly Prints, oil on paper, 20 by 30 cm






​“I want to create a body of work that addresses the fact that some biases in research methods stretch out over time and compromise the research environment even today, as science journalist Angela Saini describes in her book ‘Inferior.’ This is not only bad for gender equality, or the place of women in science, it’s bad for science and for the understanding of human life itself.”






Video Documentation of the progress so far.




​'The Missing Triangle,' artist book, the pages are  oil paint prints of clay stamps. The purpose of my book is to 'restore' what was done to the illustration of a semi dissected woman torso in a 16th century anatomy textbook. Its owner cut out a neat triangle with the drawing of the woman's vagina on it, as depicting women's reproductive organs was taboo in his days. 

Pre Existing Condition, monochromatic diptych, oil on canvas, 105 by 180cm.


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