art vs science: a beautiful mash-up

When I was about 3 and a half I fell off a climbing frame and fractured my wrist. I don't remember all that much about it, but I do remember having x-rays and having to have a cast on for weeks. I next had an x-ray in my first year of university, when I had a bunch of x-rays done of my teeth, and the most recent time was in March when I was given a chest x-ray after a horrendous anxiety attack.

So all in all there are a fair few of x-rays of various bits of me in my medical records. Of course, I have never seen them, and had never really thought about them until I saw the work of Matthew Cox, who makes strangely beautiful embroideries on top of x-rays and MRI scans.

{necklace with bouquet} 

{wading knees}

{skull MRI}

{underwire bra with tulips}

{feet}

{waterproof watches} 

There is an odd beauty in the delicate embroidery against the crisp harshness of the black and white image of the x-ray. I also like the technical aspect of the x-ray vs. the creative aspect of the embroidery - science meets art, and together they become something astoundingly beautiful.

That's just my opinion though. What do you think about them?

see more of Matthew's embroidered x-rays here and here

and more of his embroidered MRIs here