Body Map book
Body Map

By Lise Melhorn-Boe
North Bay, Canada: Transformer Press, 2009. Edition of 50.

8 x 8"; 10 unnumbered leaves in a snake-fold format. Printed by an Epson Stylus Pro 9600 with the Ultrachrome Inkset onto Inkpress Fine Art Matte paper.

Lise Melhorn-Boe: "I have been struggling with my health since my mid-twenties, some problems caused by or exacerbated by art materials, and discovered a couple of years ago that I had breast cancer. I then learned that I had extremely high levels of heavy metals in my body, which my doctor attributed to growing up in two communities with smelters. He also felt that the cancer and my chronic infection could be attributed to the heavy metals contamination. I realize that there are probably many others, whose health has been compromised in some way by their environment. I decided to make a body of work on this topic, and have recently spent four months researching connections between health and the environment, as an Artist in Residence at Queen’s University."

Body Map is a show-and-tell book presenting some of the information that Lise has uncovered in her research about connections between our health and the environment. These tidbits of data surround a body - Lise's body.

A 1988 study showed Mercury Vapour in the air at a
conference doubled during coffee breaks. Mercury
emissions from dental amalgams were identified as the
culprit. Mercury is linked to food allergies, an impaired
immune system and to thyroid malfunction.

Metals mining is responsible for 39% of arsenic
releases, 89% of mercury releases and 88% of lead
releases.

$200