History of Medicine 1996 - 2001

The History of Medicine series of mixed media prints was inspired by my travels throughout Asia where I visited ancient Buddhist monasteries and temple sites existing in emerging cultures undergoing rapid physical and technological development in the move towards modernization. As a traveler, I became fascinated with Eastern medicine, acupuncture charts, and old maps. I developed an interest in the web of abstract relations that constitute the acupuncturist’s map and the energetic flows throughout the body that are referred to as “chi”. In Eastern medicine, the practice of mapping the body is a method of creating balance and connecting to the universal rhythms of life. The resulting work is comprised of a complex matrix of visual snippets, both Eastern and Western, found and invented that question the boundaries of our existence: harmony and chaos, balance and equilibrium, and perception and understanding.

Cartographies

My recent work explores how cartography has been used throughout history to both inform and distort our perceptions of the world. Cartography, aside from it obvious value to science, has been valuable asset in the move towards globalization. Since its early inception, cartography introduced the local community to foreign cultures around the globe and as a result, became a potent tool in the promotion of political agendas. My intent is to confront the viewer with the consequences of
science, technology, exploration, and exploitation and illustrate its impact on culture.

The art of cartography and publishing travelogues like the Nuremberg Chronicles were primary sources of knowledge during the medieval period. Maps not only depicted a country’s flora and fauna, but also stereotypical images of culture. On the heels of cartography, Curiosity Cabinets and specimen collecting became another obsession that advanced science and technology. The cabinets exposed spectators to the traveler’s wandering interests while at the same time reflected the collector’s worldly views and idiosyncratic hodgepodge of interests. Through the art of specimen collecting, the cabinets not only introduced, but also informed audiences and over time the methodology became the basis for modern museums today. My aim is to take the viewer on a metaphorical journey and to invoke questions of how our past informs our present.