Three-Dimensional Engravings

Oxford-based sculptor and installation artist, Angela Palmer, was studying at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art when she came across a model made by Dorothy Hodgkin, Nobel Prize winning chemist. The model was a three dimensional structure of penicillin, composed of just a few lines drawn on parallel sheets of Perspex—but it inspired Palmer, who has since been creating art by using medical scanning techniques as inspiration. The images above are part of a series created using CT and MRI scans of animals and humans, including the artist herself. MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) uses magnetic fields to carefully capture layer after layer of internal biological structures, building up a complete image. Palmer interprets and imitates this process in a unique way. She takes each individual image and draws or hand-engraves it onto sheets of non-reflective glass, then when these sheets are stacked together, the complete image is built up out of the cross-sections—so it’s only visible if viewed from a certain angle. These three-dimensional views are incredibly detailed and incredibly fascinating, reflecting on how we represent our bodies and identities, and the fragility of human life.