Most of my work depicts the human body, what it’s composed of, and how it works. From reading scientific essays about cadavers to flipping through anatomy books as a kid to aspiring to become a forensic scientist when I’m older, I’ve always had a passion for the human machine. But the real reason I’ve leaned into depicting anatomy and health in my art is because I’ve struggled with a host of health issues in the past.

As a teenage ultramarathon runner, I’ve dealt with femur fractures, internal bleeding, asthma, and overuse injuries. Though I love the sport, I’ve had to monitor my health much more closely than others my age and since it consumes so much of my time and energy, it also tends to take over my art.

I can’t escape it.

In my most recent works, I’ve found myself embroidering with shoelaces and even using Moleskin and sports tape to create textured canvases and to replicate the stringiness of muscle. I’ve also tried to experiment with bright, contrasting colors to represent inflamed muscles or organs.

This piece, “The Human Matrix,” is a mixture of netting, string, yarn, and layered matte board as I tried to capture the organized chaos and depth of the human body. This particular construction is intended to focus on the internal bleeding and inflammation I’ve struggled with due to the high impact of ultrarunning.

With this and the rest of my work, I want to capture the complicated mess of human health through the lens of a girl who’s been sick way too much.