Arm met een litteken na het verwijderen van een tumor before 1884

This photographic plate captures a tumor before and after its removal, a stark medical record rendered in monochrome. In the pre-antibiotic era, such images served as visual testaments to the surgeon’s craft, often laden with implications of mortality and the body’s vulnerability. But let us consider the symbolism of wounds and healing, motifs as old as humanity itself. Recall the ancient votive offerings of limbs, dedicated in hopes of divine intervention. The display of a wound is a plea, a symbol of shared human frailty. The scar itself mirrors the cyclical patterns of life, not unlike the Ouroboros, the snake eating its tail, an emblem of eternity and constant renewal. It reflects a shift in meaning: from an emblem of suffering to a symbol of resilience. This visual narrative taps into our deepest fears and hopes, resonating through the corridors of time.