Abnormal Interaction

Amor Schofield, Big Picture, Hobart City High School

In collaboration with Roisin Moloney, Menzies Institute for Medical Research, UTAS

Artist’s Statement

I collaborated with the scientist Roisin, who is researching Multiple Sclerosis (MS) at the Menzies Centre. She showed me live video scans of the brains of deceased mice. I decided to personify 3 different cell types, as well as a mouse/mouse brain. The cells I selected were Astrocytes (two versions), Pericytes, and the Myelin sheath (damaged).

A simple breakdown of each character’s appearance:

Astrocyte [Healer]
Compact, star-like hair, dark blue to tie to Astrocyte [Bouncer], band aid to represent healing capabilities, serious demeanour to hint that they are very focussed on their job (way too focussed in MS, as they make far too much scar tissue).

Astrocyte [Bouncer]
Flowery, star-like/cell brooch on bow, blue to tie to Astrocyte [Healer], stun gun to show defensive capabilities, long hair to imitate the actual cells branching tendrils and to show how long they can be, smug demeanour to show how good they are at their job (way too good in MS, as they turn against the body).

Pericyte
Branching points to imitate the actual cell, red to tie to blood, apathetic expression to show that they can be quite lazy, clingy to show how they hold onto and squeeze blood vessels to control blood flow in the body.

Myelin [Damaged]
More green (nerve) exposed than orange (sheath), long crazy green hair to imitate nerve, orange hair tie to imitate nucleus, named Maya-Lynn to tie back to its actual name, doubtful expression to hint at its lasting damage.

Mouse [Brain]
Mousey elements, space buns to imitate ears, pink hair to imitate brain slice, pink to represent the brain, earthy tones to represent the mouse, belt acts as a tail.

I hope that people will be able to better understand what each cell’s role is through my characters. Anthropomorphising non-human things is typically quite effective at getting people to sympathise with them.