Neoplastic disease
Neoplastic disease is the excessive division of cells, due to a variety of
causes, that results in the formation of atypical bodies of tissue called
neoplasms. A neoplasm can form virtually anywhere in the body and is commonly
referred to as a tumor. Although the words neoplasm or tumor tend to be used
somewhat synonymously with cancer, neoplasms can also just as commonly be
benign or premalignant as malignant. However, the precise identification of the
defective normal process that underlies the disease is commonly very difficult,
and certainly so in analyzing the nature of the neoplastic transformation of
normal cells*
Maess' drawings examine the life and death of an organism attacked by
malignant process in the the context of relationships between various forms of
data such as personal documentation and scientific research on
diagnostic and predictive oncology.
Condensed on paper are transformations of tissues, survival rates, pain,
anxiety, electron micrograph images and 3D models, all into one dramatic
explosion. The intent is not to reproduce the data, but to explore the
convulsion of physical and digital space and to create a metaphor for the
profound and fragile experience of negotiating the balance between health and
sickness.
Maess (b.1982, Warsaw) graduated with a Master’s Degree from the Academy of
Fine Arts in Warsaw. In 2005 she
received a scholarship to attend the Escola Superior de Artes e Design in Porto
Portugal. Her exhibitions include Plumba Contemporary Art,
Porto, Portugal (2006), Museum Santa Cecilia in Rome (2010), Wroclaw
Contemporary Museum (2013) Arsenal City Gallery Poznan (2013) Drawing Center
New York (2014) Maess’s drawings have been published in Fukt Magazine for
Contemporary Drawing 8/9 and she took part in the launching exhibition at
Center of Contemporary Art in Warsaw.
Maess' awards include nomination to Grand Prix FID Prize in Paris (2012)
Leipzig International Art Programme in Germany (2014) Adam Mickiewicz Institute Grant (2014)
http://maess.eu
*Clement L. Marker, Neoplasia: A Disease of Cell Differentiation, Cancer
Research vol. 28
