Laura Splan: Neuroanatomy in Blood

Although it's all too tempting to sneer at paintings done with the artist's own body fluids as silly and pretentious "statements" (Piss Christ comes to mind), some work artists have done with their own blood is really too brilliant to dismiss.

For example, Laura Splan, who paints detailed neuroanatomy with her own blood.

Thought Patterns is a series of images inspired by neuroanatomical structures. Each drawing was created using blood taken from my fingertips as the primary medium. The series explores the relationship between the images being depicted and the source of the medium with which they are drawn. I was drawn to these images as a formal exploration of the elements of our body that tell us we sense pain or pleasure."

Laura's body of work is extremely diverse, also encompassing (bloodless) doilies, rugs and facial peels. If you're in New York City, you can catch a solo exhibit of her work at the New York Hall of Science up until January.

Laura Splan [Artist's Site] (via Neurofuture)