Artist’s Statement

“Art is meant to disturb, science reassures.” – Georges Braque

My name is Sarrah Hussain, and I am a 21 year-old aspiring medical illustrator from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. I currently study at Lehigh University, pursuing a double major in both Behavioral Neuroscience and Fine Art. Ever since I can remember, art and science have always held an extremely deep yet equal place in my heart.

My personal artwork is currently most inspired by the novelty of the human body and face. More than just attention to detail and anatomical accuracy, what really attracts me is determining the essential features that uniquely define or provide “identity” to a person or object. To me, hands and eyes are the most beautiful and emotional subjects. Just by looking at someone’s hands or eyes, you can infer more than just age, ethnicity, or occupation. You can sense even the most delicate sentiment, motive, or state of mind. It is these unique emotions, evoked strictly through dynamic human form and body language, that I want to capture and eternalize within my work.

Biography

My previous professional experience in bioinformatics includes working as an undergraduate researcher for the Babcock Lab at Lehigh University. Through discovering a new gene and studying mechanisms of neuromuscular degeneration in D. melanogaster, I have worked directly on both data collection as well as illustrating the figures for our paper that is currently under publication review.

This upcoming neuroscience textbook illustration is an opportunity that will greatly enhance my experience in biomedical illustration. I have been fortunate to have such a strong foundation in both the arts and sciences, however this opportunity for growth has been largely limited within each respective discipline. Therefore I am beyond ecstatic to take on this project, and to have the ability to directly combine my passion for art with my knowledge and experience in neuroscience. This would also be my first official exhibit and participation in a permanent collection, which is a huge professional milestone for me in my early career!