Deanna Leamon
HeartsHeadsThe Limits of TissueShroudVital and InertHamlet SeriesOther
“In order to invent heaven and hell, a person would need to know nothing except the human body.” (José Saramago, Blindness)

My work starts with the fact that we are all embodied. Our experiences of the world and our actions in the world all proceed in and through our bodies. Our body is that junction where all that is good or evil, lovely or ugly, can be focused, felt and acted on. “In order to invent heaven and hell, a person would need to know nothing except the human body.”

I create large figurative mixed-media drawings that explore the relationships between physicality, metaphor and humanity in the modern world. I have developed my vision in the gross anatomy laboratory, sometimes working alongside medical students, sometimes alone. The expressive possibilities of the human body from the outside in and from the inside out inform my work. I aim to uncover our humanity from our physical selves.