Martha Pacheco is inspired by death. She draws and paints in a fantastical way what happens to our bodies when we lay on the steel slab of the morgue table. This Guadalajara artist gained access to the morgue to capture the process of breaking down the human body. Pacheco’s work is vibrant when it’s done in color, and somber when it’s done in greyscale. I don’t personally find it to be gore, despite the exposed organs and profuse bleeding wounds. Instead, I see these as images of release; some of the corpses appear to be smiling or sleeping. Pacheco paints death as peace, a final exhale, and a surrendering to fate. Enjoy this gallery of her work below.
In her beginnings, Martha Pacheco would cut out from the tabloid images of bodies from road accidents or autopsies for inspiration. Afterwards, she gained access to the morgue, the Servicio Médico Forense, and there she started documenting with photographs unclaimed bodies, and then she would produce paintings and drawings.
Images via Dr. Tenge
