KOCHI: How about an artist in white coat painting various sections of human anatomy? A painting competition organised by the Indian Medical Association, Thrissur had many of them giving life to anatomical cross-sections on a unique canvas --- their classmates’ faces and bodies. Anasculpt-2022, a national-level competition, was the brainchild of Dr Rose Xaviour, who is an assistant professor with the Department of Anatomy, Government Medical College, Thrissur.
“There are very good artists among the medicos, but they never get a chance to display their skills with the brush. So I thought why not give them a stage? Thus happened Anasculpt,” said Rose. Another thing that prompted her to come up with the idea was the joy she felt after her YouTube channel Life In The Womb Dr Rose crossed one lakh-mark in terms of subscribers.“The channel is purely academic and deals with various topics in anatomy,” said Dr Rose who has a very long association with the Government Medical College Thrissur.
“I did my undergraduate and postgraduate courses at Thrissur GMC. Now I’m an assistant professor with its anatomy department,” said the young doctor, who is also an artist. A visit to her home would underscore that.“The Life In The Womb Anatomy Club will provide not only students but also faculty from all departments to showcase their artistic skills,” she said. Anasculpt will be held annually.
The inaugural edition had three sections. “Ecorche (which means body painting) had 13 teams comprising three participants each. One of the team members was a model on whom the other two created the art — section paintings of the head, neck and upper limbs,” she said. The second section was the Magnum Opus. Here an exhibition of models in any medium, be it clay, chart, canvas or paintings of anatomical parts, was held.
“We got more than 20 teams of two in a group. We received items from AIIMS, Chennai, Mysore, Hyderabad and Midnapore,” said Rose.The final segment was Expecto Patronum, an anatomical quiz competition. As the name highlights, the event’s theme was Harry Potter.“However, the questions were from anatomy,” Rose said. The four teams were named after Harry Potter’s four houses and each round was also given names related to the famous film franchise.