Installation at the Anatomical Museums of Modena for Diari di Anatomia (2009), mixed media, variable dimensions (oil and acrylic on canvas, 240 x 134 cm), ink drawing, audio and video loop, vintage materials from the museum’s repository, body preservation tank.
The installation is inspired by the 1940 documentary Experiments in the Revival of Organisms, which details the vivisection experiments of Sergej Brjuchonenko (USSR) and his claimed successes in decapitation, heart removal, “recomposition” of bodies, and subsequent reanimation of dogs. The work presents an imaginary office space centered around a corpse display tank used as a desk, located in the museum’s teratological collection area. The scientist-demiurge works at the table beneath his own image, portrayed in a large painting—his personal religious icon and a celebration of his ego, which is the true driving force behind his Frankenstein-like experiments.
The installation is inspired by the 1940 documentary Experiments in the Revival of Organisms, which details the vivisection experiments of Sergej Brjuchonenko (USSR) and his claimed successes in decapitation, heart removal, “recomposition” of bodies, and subsequent reanimation of dogs. The work presents an imaginary office space centered around a corpse display tank used as a desk, located in the museum’s teratological collection area. The scientist-demiurge works at the table beneath his own image, portrayed in a large painting—his personal religious icon and a celebration of his ego, which is the true driving force behind his Frankenstein-like experiments.
