Today we’d like to introduce you to Mikayla ScientificWoman.
Mikayla, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
My entire life has been a search for the unknown and unusual- trying to understand the world around me and how it impacts everyone and everything. As a child, I quickly came to terms with the fact that this is a journey that will never be completed and found a certain level of unexplainable discomfort in that. This very discomfort is what fueled my obsessive thirst for understanding death. I began studies in mortuary science as I felt, at the time, that it would be my perfect career. However, I quickly found myself in a mentorship with a Ph.D. in chemistry and owner of a leading natural history gallery where I was instructed on taxidermy preparations, anatomy, human skull restoration, physics and of course chemistry. This experience changed my entire life path and shaped who I am as an artist. I knew at that point my subject matter for my art would always be about death and science.
As time progressed and my mentorship had long passed, I worked as a taxidermy restoration artist but found that I was not fully satisfied by what is deemed as traditional taxidermy. Then I had an idea, taking taxidermy a step beyond just looking life-like, I wanted to show the internal workings of the animal that allowed it to once be alive. I wanted to create original pieces that respectfully showcased animals that didn’t always have to look perfectly alive…because everything dies and the beauty of a creature does not have to end once death occurs. I knew that most people had no idea what the real internal anatomy of creatures looked like and I created ScientificWoman in order to change that.
We’d love to hear more about your art.
I consider myself a biological artist and I’m known for my interactive/dissection taxidermy and otherwise never before seen soft-tissue biological art. The form of art that I showcase did not exist prior to a format that was accessible to the public so I developed my own method of preservation in order to create a visceral impact that leads the observer to investigate their own mortality. Every piece of art I create begins with my understanding that the best way to appreciate the mechanical nature of life is through examining the remarkable nature of death. My creative process always begins with a vision of unraveling the anatomical layers of a specimen in order to unveil the knowledge held within. I extensively study the anatomy of each specimen I have the honor to work with and hope to convey the same knowledge to others by allowing access to the beautiful internal story held within each living creature. Each piece of memento mori I create is delicately dissected and positioned in a way that is designed to artistically educate the viewer and catalyze their own mortal introspection.
How can artists connect with other artists?
For myself, being an artist is inherently lonely because in order to create my work I force myself to reflect in a way that often isolates me from others physically and emotionally. I find this to be a great skill when it is time to create but it is not always healthy in the grand concept of self-preservation. To combat this, I connect with other artists by actively looking for others to collaborate with and create new pieces of work from two perspectives. Artistic collaborations have always connected me to other artists in a way that leaves a lingering feeling of inspiration. Staying active in a culture of death positivity has inevitably kept me connected to other like-minded artists- finding your community of artists similar to yourself is indescribably helpful.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
A selection of my work can be found at ScientificWoman.com and I am always sharing my latest works on my Instagram @scientificwoman. My work is displayed and available in oddity and natural history galleries throughout the country. Beyond that, I am constantly traveling and attending shows in which I offer my work as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: ScientificWoman.com
- Instagram: @scientificwoman
Image Credit:
ScientificWoman
Glenn Jones
Suggest a story:VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
