Dream Anatomy

The National Library of Medicine, 2002. Firm: Riggs Ward

The Dream Anatomy exhibition was held at the National Library of Medicine from October 2002 to July 2003. The exhibition interprets the history of anatomical drawing and showcases the Library's extraordinary collection of historical anatomical works.

A larger-than-life book was designed to highlight the entrance to the gallery, and direct traffic flow. Its pages house the exhibit's introductory text and hallmark image, Govard Bidloo's Ontleding des menschelyken lichaams...

"A dissected arm emerges from a book, iconographically signifying that true anatomical knowledge comes from dissection of the human body and from the production of books based on such dissections."

The exhibition catalog, produced several years after the exhibition had ended, represents a revised and enriched version of the exhibition's major themes. The catalog format pairs the usual "gallery" picture book, with a richly-illustrated and scholarly essay on the history of anatomical representation from playful fantasy, to the pursuit of truth.