Dream of the Dragon

Through a self-invented process, I suspend, encase, and permanently preserve animal blood, salvaged from slaughterhouses, in plexiglass and UV resin. This technique is designed to retain the blood’s natural colors and textures and to expose its finite details. When lit, the works become more translucent, cast shadows, and project a glow onto the wall behind them. This effect reveals multiple layers of organic material floating in clear resin and makes the works appear as if they are illuminated from the inside.

-from artist Jordan Eagles’ website

This guy’s process evolved out of a fascination with blood. Most thrilling/unsettling: using the blood itself as a light filter, casting everything in the glow of slaughterhouse waste. He even uses old-school overhead projectors to achieve the effect.

My sister pointed out that for an animal bred to be eaten, and likely with a terribly low quality of life, this art offers a kind of final transcendence. Or value beyond consumption. It’s a brilliant way of recycling. So much art is indulgent in one way or another (this is no exception), but it’s got aesthetic sass and the medium alone warrants applause.

Visit Eagles’ site and take a look at his work. It’s fascinating and just the right mix of morbid and beautiful. I recommend avoiding most of the press, though, unless you want to be assaulted by every blood-related adjective imaginable. He’s got an exhibition that opened in Brooklyn just yesterday.