Japanese Illustrator Exposes the Composition of Mammals

A friend of mine works in an op shop. A proper one, not an overpriced 'vintage' one. A few months ago she showed up to the pub with a collection of books which had been donated, one of which was a colouring book for medical students, complete with every element of human anatomy you'd ever need to know. We sat tipsily entranced by the semi-coloured-in pictures of lungs and kidneys and feet, the outspread arms of nerve cells and the fragile spiderweb-like bone structure of the hand.

Bodies are funny things. We're often quick to forget what's under the surface, what's holding us together and propelling us forward. Japanese illustrator Wataru Yoshida has recently captured this idea in a startlingly beautiful way, in a series of posters entitled Composition of Mammals. The images combine photographs of different mammals, including humans, overlaid with the ethereal shadows of their skeletons and vital organs. The series was created as part of an imaginary exhibition at the National Musuem of Nature and Science in Tokyo, aiming to show the mystery and fascination of how delicate even the strongest of bodies is when you peel back the skin.

[Via Design Bloom]