In Genesis, women and men were separated into genders. A piece of male anatomy was taken to create his female counterpart. It is in the separation and function of genders that we continue to endure this test of time in society. Rad Hourani's photographic and digital dissection of the human anatomy juxtaposes genders to question the separation and illusion of social constructs that divide genders and race. In using flawless filiform and athletic bodies for their anatomical resemblance, Rad raises the question: Before gender-specific garments, is there a body?

"ANATOMY" digitally dissects the human body with precision in order to create genderless compositions. After taking him over a year to understand human morphology, he was then able to reconstruct garments that transcend gender, age, and tradition. This is the essence of Rad's search for neutrality, as he pushed the study of anatomy while inventing the first gender-neutral patterns, in addition to a new sizing system specific to a complete unisex wardrobe. Translated into the pictorial dissection of the body that is now "anatomy" photography, Rad's nudes are graphically positioned to lose sight of the concept of gender and give way to the landscape in which we are immersed when looking at them. We see a body language in which light, shadows, movements, and torsos become neutral.

Each series conveys a different approach in search of the balance of a harmonious language. He further makes incisions to separate the faces and bodies that articulate the repetition of all parts of the canvas to become unified, while the deconstructed sinuous forms create a new type of harmony in order to evoke a strong sense of singularity. It is this artful combination between individuality and universality that this new paradigm functions as a unifying force, treating the body as a language.

The dynamism of a physical body gives way to a tableaux, in which some anatomical elements are readable while others act as a "trompe l'oeil" so as to say that an arm may look like a leg or a letter. Rad's ability to represent anatomy in a geometrical manner creates multiple readings, which are recomposed. The transition of muscular bodies to more slender shapes speaks to the complexity of our understanding of beauty, as archetypes differ from generation to generation. "ANATOMY" is part illusion and statement that articulates a contemporary gaze and condition: a multiplicity of beliefs.

© 2011 RAD HOURANI

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