Thursday Salute to Originals: M-R-I or A-R-T?
It’s been said that modern medicine is more of an art than an exact science. And Andy Ellison is certainly making a convincing argument for that sentiment with his captivating and haunting images. But this creator is a little different than most – his background is as an MRI technologist and his medium is the medical machines themselves.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is typically used for medical purposes, creating renderings of the body and uncovering potential problems lurking within. But several years ago, in a stroke a genius, Ellison realized the potential of MRI technology and elected to utilize it more like a utensil out of an artist’s toolbox as opposed to a medical device.
Instead of scanning the human body, Ellison began scanning fruit, vegetables, and flowers, and the results are simply breathtaking (and a little trippy when viewed in motion!). Clusters of seeds, gritty peels, fibrous cores, and webs of flesh – all normally obscured inside their natural shells – are suddenly up front and center in dynamic renderings that look more like ghostly portrayals of alien creatures than fresh produce.
For turning science into art, and revealing beauty concealed beneath the peel, we salute Ellison and his creative use of medical technology. Maybe next he can work on putting his artistic spin on other areas of medicine? As designers who focus on improving space and experience, how can we learn from the unique viewpoints of industry insiders?
Image credits: Inside Insides