The figure drawings and anatomical sketches of Leonardo DiVinci interest me. His exploration of ideas and exhausting research inspired my practice. As I continued my own exploration, I expanded my research to include ideas from philosophy, science as well as art. Contemporary philosopher Susan J. Brison has had a great influence in my practice. A quote that has inspired much of my work comes from his book, Aftermath: Violence and the Remaking of a Self. She said: “We are our molecules; our deepest fears, joys, and desires are embodied in the chemical signals of our neurotransmitters. But we are also creators of meaning, inventing – and making from – our stories, our idiosyncrasies, our crazy plots, our unpredictable outcomes. How can we make sense of the fact that we are both? »1 This is the question I try to explore in my work. Recently, I explored Francisco J. Varela's ideas on the portable laboratory. He said: "Human beings, in their integrated and situated lives, constitute a de facto topographical place (the body, the self) where procedures and gestures can be carried out to directly explore the human experience itself (the quest)2. » In my practice, I seek to explore both the physical and psychological aspects of trauma and healing. I look to other artists for inspiration and affirmation when it comes to my work. I am certainly not the first artist to represent ideas of the body and its fragility. Hannah Wilke, whose work dealt with ideas of beauty and vulnerability, is perhaps one of the most influential artists for me. Although her work is very different from mine, I believe that she was fundamentally asking the same social questions as me through her work. When I first saw his work, I felt like I was in the middle of the paper......or or outside? This dichotomy correlates with the idea of ​​separation, even conflict, between the mind and the body. Are the two distinct, or are they symbiotic and entirely dependent on each other? Just as some people believe that meditation can clarify or synchronize the mind and body, my work is a process that symbolically expresses trauma, illness and death, beyond what is apparent from a physical body, causing a similar synchronization. Works Cited Brison, Susan J. Aftermath: Violence and the Remaking of a Self. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2002. Obrist, Hans-Ulrich, and Elfasson Olafur. Experience the marathon. Reykjavik Art Museum, 2014. Robertson, Jean and Craig McDaniel. Themes in Contemporary Art: Visual Art after 1980. New York:, Oxford UP, 2013.Scarry, Elaine. The body in pain: the creation and deconstruction of the world. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985.