Denise Pelletier
(2021-2022)
Sculpture with loop animation
“trans.con.figurations” is an exploration of the internal terrain of my body, captured in PET/CT (positron emission tomography/computed tomography) scans taken before and after surgery for a destructive spine tumor. PET/CT, a medical imaging tool that reveals both the structure and the metabolic function of tissues and organs – how they are functioning in real time – are read as hybrid 3D models in constant motion on the computer screen. In this form, they slip in and out of a recognizable realm, unidentifiable as separate organs but as interacting metabolic entities, unmoored and collapsing their borders. Transformed into 3D workable files for machining and prototyping, they freeze into beautiful, curious, or grotesque forms. Built, rebuilt, and manipulated in clay, they give concrete shape to image capture, a speculative feedback loop between digital, physical, and machine processes. A projection nearby creates a somatic cinematic experience, a hopeful gesture that technology might be used to save us.