Scientific Color Coding and Colorful Art

Microscopic color symphony, Elana Mokady, acrylic on canvas, 36x36 inches, Boston, MA, October 2019.

 

Recently I was commissioned by a group of physicians from the nephrology department in one of Boston’s hospitals to paint an artistic representation of a part of a human kidney, as observed by them through the lens of a microscope. Its’ scientific name is the glomerulus. This painting was a gift to one of the most prominent researchers in the field.  

I was given a tiny abstract image that showed the expression of the PLA2R molecule which became a novel discovery in the nephrology field and was published by Beck et al in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2009.

As an artist & founder at Elana Mokady Art it was remarkable to see the importance of color in medical research. Using an outstanding color-coding technique that is called immunofluorescence staining, scientists were able to differentiate molecules in the human body and validate complicated scientific assumptions that helped solve human conditions and unexplained disease paths.

As I started painting my original, I was astonished to see how colorful my source was and how human organs shine from within when we can see them in color. I felt free and inspired by the wonder of colors and complicated shapes that I found. My imagination soared and I was living inside of what was a completely abstract concept for me.

It was an honor and an opportunity for me to use my imagination and colorful palette to paint this scientific- artistic representation. Painting a microscopic image on a large scale transformed me into a new space with imaginative branches, fruits and an abundance of color, and led me to see shapes that I had never seen before. Each brushstroke was a surprise and a joy.

I named this painting “Microscopic color symphony” to remind all of us how sometimes art and science align.

Get even more inspired by colors,

Happy New Year!! 

Yours Always,

Elana Mokady