Zoeya Ali

The inspiration for this piece came from studying the works of Leonardo da Vinci. His renowned studies of anatomy and mechanics made me think about the intricacies that exist in the human body, and how discovering these details will impact my work. This was the initial connection between science and art that I made, which only grew more prominent by incorporating my knowledge of anatomy from past and current biology classes. I was interested in creating a direct comparison between organisms that were entirely different. I began with a set of invertebrates that were visually distinct: Butterflies, Centipedes, Spiders, and Praying Mantises. I then determined what comparisons would look the best to me, and what I was most interested in drawing and studying. Many of the choices that I made were entirely decided by how interesting or appealing the work felt to me. I concluded that the praying mantis had a unique resemblance to the pelvis, and the spider to the rib cage.

This piece was created using graphite pencil, charcoal, and black watercolor on watercolor paper. The use of black watercolor allowed me to establish a dark layer before covering it with charcoal, achieving a truly solid, black base. Using graphite, which has a metallic, reflective quality when layered, added depth to the subject. In combination with using blending tools to soften harsh edges, this adds to the smooth texture that is seen on the exoskeletons of insects and arachnids.

The reference material for this project was mainly sourced from the internet and images from anatomy textbooks. The nature of this piece allowed me to manipulate the anatomy of the human body, but only after I had essentially memorized its placement and structure. When it came to the spider and praying mantis, it was very important to make them entirely recognizable without labeling them.

Overlaying the anatomy of a praying mantis and spider onto the human rib cage and abdomen demonstrated visual and structural patterns that exist in biology among vastly different organisms. I manipulated the scale of the subjects to fit the human bone structure. In this way, this piece is a combination of scientific accuracy and caricature that displays the existence of certain arrangements that have been favored in nature, resulting in structural similarities between entirely different organisms.

I decided to make it look like an x-ray because I felt that it matched thematically. This is also why the piece has such stark contrast and is monochromatic. The white outline of the subject gives the effect of a futuristic white glow that contributes to the undertone of science fiction. The monochromatic color scheme, contrast that creates a wide range of value, and anatomical accuracy all contribute to its resemblance to an x-ray. The background features a praying mantis head in the top-right corner and human spine in the bottom-left corner, which was a way to break up the negative space and add more movement within the work.