Internal Structures
Internal Structures is a collection of photographs and photographic collages which are vintage anatomical drawings integrated with digital photographs printed on Mylar and Plexiglass layers. The largest images measure eleven by fourteen inches and two inches deep.
The project came about as I toured Purdue Polytechnic in anticipation of my upcoming exhibition. I entered a classroom with intriguing engine models, bisected to reveal arterial insides that caused the models to seem anthropomorphic. I began thinking about people’s relationship to technology and machines. Because this relationship is ever-changing, and embedded with ideas of obsolescence and progress, I used materials and processes belonging to different genres and time periods. My collages are hybrid imaginings, some portentous, some recalling steampunk, with a nod to the idea that what is futuristic becomes dated.
The project took place in a setting where students learn current technologies in the computer classroom and workshop. Their generation relies heavily on technology for their work and personal lives. My observations inspired the project and offered the opportunity to print my photographs on new substrates.