Shell

Dissecting a human body is a strange experience. Sometimes I’m overwhelmed with gratitude at the enormity of the gift my donor gave to me and my anatomy lab partners; in other times, I’m excited by the biology before me. In some moments, I’m acutely aware of my own blood rushing through my veins as I stare at the remnants of those vessels laid out under cold light.

I wanted to show the beauty of the body while also expressing the discomfort that comes with acknowledging we are made of the exact same stuff as patients. I don’t think I accomplished this. The image I created comes across as too clean and sterile to me, but in a way, that’s reflective of where I am in the medical school process: first year. Everything is theory at this point, with the exception of the donor in the anatomy lab.