Bioengineered
About the work
Medical treatments often involve manipulating natural progressions in the body to improve outcome. The bamboo plant represented in white plaster was genetically engineered into a spiraling form, but my sculpture takes this concept one step further to include nuts and bolts supporting the plant structure, emphasizing the difference between the synthetic and the natural.
While typically unseen, medical implants similarly juxtapose man-made mechanical devices in a natural environment. Beyond surgery, treatment strategies often involve simplifying the body into a machine of working parts, just like the mechanically-reinforced bamboo plant.
The second part of the sculpture, a pair of pliers shaped from tree branches, completes the cycle of man-made tools and man-made manipulation. In order to improve our man-made solutions, we often turn back to nature for inspiration – no different from pharmaceutical solutions and homeopathic therapies pervasive in modern medicine."
The Artist
Rachita Navara, M.D., Class of 2015