These are some artist examples who developed artworks using things such as organs and the human body as their main material use.
The artist is called Hadzi-Vasileva, she is based in the UK. She is an artist that has worked alongside medical chemical scientist developers to create sustainable materials out of animal organs and animal fats as a successful way to reduce waste and being able to experiments with different skill, techniques and explore material uses.
the top left art installation is called ‘Fragility’ which was installed in Fabrica Gallery. For this exhibition commission, she used pigs caul fat, exploring the idea of near death experience. Juxtaposing the experience and materiality.
The bottom left artwork is titled ‘Haruspex’.
The artwork on the right side is part of the exhibition, ‘Exposing Beauty’. it is made of a sheep stomach, lamb intestine and turned wood.
What I love about Hadzi-Vasileva’s work, is that she takes something that most people are disgusted by and completely transforms it into something that is beautifully presented and installed. Here installation pieces are one one my favourites because not only has she gone beyond with her material choices, but she transforms her exhibition space into something that brings out a curiosity and fragility in people.
The second example is Gunther Von Hargens who is a German anatomist.
He uses the technique of patination to preserve biological tissue of the human body. What struck me about Hargens work, is that his collections of the body forms remind me of Leonardo Da Vinci’s anatomy sketches in an ink the is similar to to colour of these pieces.
Not only that, but the fact that these forms were those of what used to be living people at one point. And he has then been able to turn them into pieces of sculptor, which is objectifying. Though the people he used had already passed, were awear of what would happen because they donated their bodies to Gunther. So the idea of the whole transaction between their bodies to me is very strange and almost surreal that people would agree to something like that.
Courtney Blair Art 