Ectopic Anatomy

Ectopic Anatomy, a project initially undertaken as part of the KulturKontakt Austria residency program in Vienna, Austria, explores computational irreducibility in relation to the human body. Computational irreducibility, a term used to describe a system that’s behavior cannot be perfectly predicted, occupies an ambiguous space in biology between what can be explained by science and what functions and malfunctions of the body continue to remain obscure. These collages are made up of pieces easily identifiable to the viewer as parts of human anatomy, but this familiarity is undermined by altering the scale, relationship, and arrangement of these elements. Like in the holistic viewpoint of the human body, the relationships and connections between the organs and miniature systems begin to take on more importance than the organs themselves. As the document of a human search for balance and understanding, there was no preconceived plan for exactly what the finished product will look like. Instead the collages would grow organically, replicating in a similar way to the cells that compose our bodies.