— The Kiss #4 | 2014
Frank Theys

The Visible Human Project, initiated by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) in the 1990s, marked a pivotal moment in digital anatomy by enabling the creation of a comprehensive anatomical database. This database, the first of its kind, featured a meticulously sectioned male cadaver, documented at one-millimeter intervals and made accessible online.

 

Shortly thereafter, a female counterpart followed, allowing unprecedented virtual dissections. With these electronic images, viewers could manipulate the body’s perspective, rotating it across multiple axes to reveal varied anatomical insights.

​

In THE KISS #4, a seemingly intimate embrace between a couple is portrayed. Theys critiques the relentless exposure brought by postmodern technological advancements, suggesting that the ability to visualize all that lies beneath skin and hair strips away the mystery and sanctity of nature and romantic emotion, rendering them desecrated, even perverted.

​

Looking forward to the third millennium, Theys envisions a profound shift in the role of art and its creator. This era, he suggests, may invite a radical reevaluation from the audience—a transformative response that could culminate in the audience’s complete reconstitution of the image through their own acts, overwriting the original message disseminated online.