Denise Pelletier

Denise Pelletier (US) used the files of a PET scan, made from her body after a cancer diagnosis. After weeks of tests doctors discovered that the tumor was not cancer at all, but an extremely rare benign osteoblastoma that needed to be removed. Pelletier ended up with a bionic neck of sorts, with 2 titanium rods, nine screws, and bone grafts from her hip holding her cervical spine together, and in possession of thousands of beautiful and puzzling data maps of her body’s interior. Interested in the landscape of her body, and how to express something that’s invisible but real, Pelletier worked with our Fablab and found a way to read these images and transform them into 3D workable files. From these files, styrofoam and plaster press-in molds were made. Pelletier also experimented with low-firing glazes to develop new surface and color treatments. The pieces will be used in future mixed-media installations and uncanny juxtapositions.