17 Jul Echo
All things in nature echo each other. We live in a world of similes where the wind blows sand in the desert like ripples of water and the clouds dance like flowers or trees or birds. Artists are taught to not only see the images that the clouds form, but also the images in everything else around us. From man-made structures to the patchwork of sky between the leaves of trees, everything echoes something else. The human body is much the same. When we explore it, our anatomy appears to be an echo of our world. The more I explore, the more I see familiarity.
This drawing is inspired by these echoes that form our world. In the cochlear, I see a snail shell, beautifully curved and patterned. Medicine has revealed many of these similes to me. Astrocytes resemble unexplored galaxies and the cerebellum a bushy, branched tree. The branches of blood vessels are a road map, reaching to every corner of the body. All things in life are similar.
Realising these similarities and connections between medicine and nature is a new form of creativity in itself. One which combines art, science and philosophy allowing us to find ourselves questioning how interesting it is that such different aspects of life are so similar.
This piece was originally published in the July issue of Murmur 2019. Read past issues of Murmur here: https://gums.org.au/site/portfolios/publications/murmur/
And get excited for our second issue of Murmur 2020 – coming soon!