What struck me about the original image was the visual connection between bones and dirt in the Xeljanz ad's statement, "Hands are made for getting dirty, not RA (rheumatoid arthritis)." The x-rayed hand digging into the dirt brought to mind the magic and mortality in the juxtaposition of radiation's use in x-ray technology and radioactive contaminants in the soil of places affected by nuclear disaster and atomic warfare. Though used in medical practice to make the unseen, inner structure of the human skeleton visible, radiation itself cannot be seen by the human eye except under UV light (or audibly by use of a Geiger Counter) and marked by that quintessential glow-in-the-dark green luminescence. One of the most striking things about the dynamic this image brings to mind is that the effects of radiation in our bodies through ingestion - a connection made apparent here through the visualization of a person gardening - most often shows in bone and joint deterioration. In the transformation of this image, therefore, my goal was to make the invisible visible in this interplay of bones, soil, and radioactivity. I chose to use a mix of green papers in a rhythm of organic lines moving toward the bulb being planted, or the vegetable being pulled from the dirt, and up into the cut-out bones of the hand and arm of the faceless gardener. The image becomes a living memento mori, glowing in radioactive green.
Transformed Image: Of Bones and Dirt Glowing Green, Amanda Miller. Collage.
Original Image citation: Xeljanz advertisement in Real Simple magazine, October 2016
