Elizabeth Jameson

Elizabeth Jameson Is an artist who explores the space between art and science in the form of transforming her brain scans into provocative images. Since her diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis, I She uses the Imaging from her MRI scans to provide a basis to give a glimpse to discuss what it means to live in an imperfect body, and to stare directly at the beauty and complexity of the imperfect brain with curiosity.

As someone who is also exploring the same theme, being at the very start of my journey I can completely understand where Jameson is coming from as well as being able to appreciate the finished images in their own right. Her images portray a very hectic and busdy feeling with the use of vibrant colour of the MRI with very clinical undertones using the MRI imaging as the basis of each final piece as you can see in the self portrait “mind on fire” (below). This is a dry point etching on paper featuring the vibrant colours of a Sagittal MRI. It has a very soft painterly feel which contrasts to the cold clinincal process of the MRI. In contrast to that she also produced “ Personality Slice” which is also based on a sagittal MRI view of the artist's brain. Personality Slice is intended to show how MRI imaging becomes a new form of portraiture but it holds the clinical accuracy that the MRI produces far better than “brain on fire”.

This is a Solar plate Etching on paper but perhaps not quite as expressive or effective.

Jameson also often prints ontop of medical letters which is a nop to the fact she has a secondary identity thorugh medical papaerwork that comes with a chronic illness. Ths is something I find very interesting as i have doctors who know me only by name and medical file and this has played a huge impact in my own work as it became very apparent shortly after my diagnosis.