Anyone who thinks that scientists can't be artists need look no further than Dr. Greg Dunn and Dr. Brian Edwards. The neuroscientist and applied physicist have paired together to create an artistic series of images that the artists describe as “the most fundamental self-portrait ever created.” Literally going inside, the pair has blown up a thin slice of the brain 22 times in a series called Self-Reflected.

Traveling across 500,000 neurons, the images took two years to complete. Funded by the National Science Foundation, Dunn and Edwards developed special technology for the project. Using a technique they've called reflective microetching, they microscopically manipulated the reflectivity of the brain's surface. Different regions of the brain were hand painted and digitized, later using a computer program created by Edwards to show the complex choreography our mind undergoes as it processes information.

After printing the designs onto transparencies, the duo added 1,750 gold leaf sheets to increase the art's reflectivity. The astounding results are images that demonstrate the delicate flow and balance of our brain's activity. “Self Reflected was created to remind us that the most marvelous machine in the known universe is at the core of our being and is the root of our shared humanity,” the artists share.

Self Reflected fine art prints and microetchings are available for purchase via Dunn's website.

Self Reflected is an unprecedented look inside the brain.

An astounding achievement in scientific art, the artists applied 1,750 leaves of gold to the final microetchings.

This video shows how the etched neurons twinkle as a light source is moved.

Interested in learning more? Watch Dr. Greg Dunn present the project at The Franklin Institute.

Dr. Greg Dunn: Website | Facebook | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to use photos by Dr. Greg Dunn.