Vena - The Essence of Life

VENA is an experimental project looking into the human body, particularly the heart. The heart has so many beautiful imperfect and intricate motions. I studied medicinal leeches and equipment, peristaltic pumps, pneumatics and the anatomy of sea creatures. I also experimented with different methods of creation, using hi-tech and lo-tech printing (hi-tech being the Objet Connex and lo-tech with the UP! Printer using abs plastic). The lo-tech prints were cleaned and smoothed out with acetone, which melts the layers down to give the print an injection molded look. Once that is done I then Vacuum metalized the models to give them that copper layer so the prints begun to take on character. The overall composition is reminiscent of the old cruet sets but with a contemporary feel that is clean and functional. This blood transfusion is similar to the athletic doping scandal where autologous transfusion is used to take out blood from the body forcing the body to replace the blood cells lost. Meanwhile the blood outside the body becomes oxygenated and once it is placed back in the body it doubles the amount of red blood cells carrying oxygen around the body which increases the stamina and energy of an individual. The whole extraction process is taken from intravenous and that is where the title derives from. The narrative combines different processes and methods of euphoria with a fictional twist from vampire tales. The narrative begins with an individual entering the room investigating and looking at the precious set, admiring the things they own. The user knows the function and sets the whole thing up so that the leech can be attached to the body and starts to extract blood from the body into a decanter. The swirling motion aerates the blood and keeps it fresh before the user pours it into a smaller jar and filters the blood through giving you the pure essence of life. The leech can be reused to dip back into the blood and absorb it, while keeping the hands clean with the copper exo-skeleton, so that the leech can dispel the purer blood back into the body through the tasting sense. It hits the lips or the tongue and disperses into the system. The set afterwards is all dirtied but the items remain beautiful and can still be showcased as the leeches exist within it.