This piece is inspired by Ted Chiang’s science fiction short story, Exhalation. In it, the protagonist dissects his own brain in hopes of understanding how memory functions. The image of a being literally looking at their own, deconstructed self has always stuck with me. I wanted to see if I could express this idea visually. In this painting, a broken skeleton twists around to gaze upon its broken body. I chose to use a skeleton to portray this self-examination, for it is not only easily fragmented, but represents the core of the human structure.