Head, ear, heart, stomach, womb, liver—just seeing words like these makes you think of an anatomy book, but here the words have become part of graphics that are poetical, far removed from any thought of human guts. Daigo Daikoku’s 100 Graphics of Anatomy consists of visual images of different parts of human bodies drawn, one per sheet, on coarse paper, but the originality of his idea and the uniqueness of the outcome, defying the imagination, are astonishing. Visuals that no other designer had conceived of make up a world that seems to have been created easily with hardly any sign of trouble or effort. That world bears the meaning of the symbolism, but its abstractness is original. Humans may be able to learn about what is inside them from preserved specimens, but that does not enable them to gain a full and accurate understanding of their own living bodies. Why? Because what is inside cannot be seen. However, Daikoku has taken those parts of the body and brought them together in characters and visual images as beautiful creations that sometimes embody the fragility and transience of something that must expire along with life. They seem to be floating in an uncharted space, wandering in search of a home. With the body dismembered to such an extent, it is doubtful that the parts will ever be able to return to their proper places. Such concerns flit across the mind. However, design has purified these lurid body parts to such an extent that they make all our senses resound. 100 Graphics of Anatomy succeeds in making us think about the nature of the human body.

Kazumasa Nagai | Graphic Designer