This project is inspired by Ernst Haeckel’s lithographs of microorganisms that blur the line between art and science.  In his time these prints were ubiquitous, their presentation of a natural world whose forms can be ordered, understood and, most importantly, improved upon took deep root in pre-War Western culture.  Haeckel’s firm belief that all organisms were made up of geometric crystalline structures that could be perfected through evolution caused him to exaggerate and idealize the organisms he represented. This ideological quest for perfection in the natural world went on to become an important influence on Eugenics programs that took these views to their terrible extremes.  ​For this series I have transferred images of  Haeckel’s lithographs onto hand-dyed fabric I have  printed wonky grids on using wire mesh bleach and thiox.  To me grids have always been a symbol of the objectivity and authority scientific graphs and illustrations are meant to represent, but through the discharge process my grids have become blurry, in some areas disappearing completely.  By juxtaposing these dissolving grids with Haeckel’s images I am encouraging viewers to look more critically at scientific illustrations, not taking for granted that everything drawn in that style is above reproach.