During my final year of GCSEs I had to choose a topic that I would study and then complete a 10 hour project on it. I decided on 'Beneath the Surface' as at the time I was studying medicine in my history lessons and I was inspired by some of the anatomical sketches that Leonardo da Vinci had done.
[Most of the research and practice sketches are in school]
Bone layer using charcoal, muscle layer using oil pastels and skin layer using goache watercolours.
During the 10 hour time limit I created 4 separate pieces that I would later put together to represent each layer of the human body. Through using my own face as reference, I was able to accurately convey the size and placement of my facial features so everything would look seamless when put together.
I also experimented with a different media for each layer as I thought it would show versatility and distinguish each of the pieces from each other.
Brain layer using coloured dyes and then bleach for finer details.
My work was mostly influenced by the anatomist Gunther Von Hagens and his preservation of biological tissue specimens through plastination.
My goal was to use this as an opportunity to better my understanding of the human body so as to better my understanding of drawing anatomical structure and facial composition in the future.
To create the final piece I printed my original drawings onto acetate and organised them in such a way that it would allow the viewer to simultaneously view each layer.
The box was also decorated with prints of x-rays that I had acquired from the biology department when doing my research.
