In considering a way to approach (thinking about) red blood cells through an artistic research methodology, I’ve been looking at the work of Marcel Bessis (1917-1994) Professor in the School of Medicine, at University of Paris and Director of the Institute of Cellular Pathology.
Corpuscles, an Atlas of Red Blood Cell shapes (1974) is a series of 121 photographs taken through a scanning electron microscope that document the life-cycle of the Red Blood Cell. These shimmering black and white images are framed by Bessis’ text On the Beauty of the Red Cell.
Science, Dreams and Poetry (1979) is a meditation on poesis, and contains recipes for dreaming…
Reflecting upon these texts has led into a series of initial screen prints; where I’ve started to experiment with a process of working with liquids. I also want to catch hold of some of the surprising hues that I’ve seen through the microscope, on my visit to the lab. More to follow…
Screen printing tests, after Marcel Bessis.
Bessis, Marcel (1974) Corpuscles: Atlas of Red Blood Cell Shapes
Berlin: Springer-Verlag
Bessis, Marcel (1979) “Science, Dreams and Poetry”
Leonardo, Vol. 12, No. 4 (Autumn, 1979), pp. 316-320
Cambridge: MIT Press
Both the photographs and your prints make me think of ‘suspensions’ – cells suspended in space and in fluid…