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Art Made from Human Body Parts?

Burlington, Vermont - October 29, 2009

Linda Jones uses old dental tools to shape wax used in her layered, abstract art. But the picks are just the start of the Burlington artist's interest in where medicine and creativity overlap. Asked if she's something of a Dr. Frankenstein, Jones chuckles, "No, no!"

Her work on display at Burlington's Firehouse Gallery includes x-rays, stitches from real surgical procedures, even human teeth, hair, and flesh preserved in formaldehyde.

Jones admits a lot of people will find her work gross. But she says it is not meant to be shocking, instead, more about a study in transforming objects.

The artist got the medical waste from procedures treating her and her family, explaining injuries and sickness are major events that affect people in profound ways. Jones is one of three artists exhibiting hospital-inspired art at the Firehouse.

As the nation wrangles with healthcare policy, the gallery wants to raise questions of how medical technology is both fascinating and scary. Curator Chris Thompson asks, "Why do we simultaneously want to preserve life, modify our bodies, extend life, but at the same time, find the actual act of it very disturbing?"

For Linda Jones, these scraps of her family's health history are very personal artifacts. She laughs, "Maybe it's a family photo album in a creepy kind of way!"

If medicine is an art, this exhibit takes that to new levels.

The exhibit is open through mid-December at the Firehouse Gallery. The building is getting new windows put in on Church Street, so until the project is complete, you'll have to use the side entrance. Click here for more information on the show.

Jack Thurston - WCAX News