Inspired by Vinay Krishnan’s poem “there’s laundry to do and a genocide to stop”, this piece attempts to depict the absurdity of mundane life for an American medical student as a US-funded genocide is actively occurring on the other side of the world. Medical students are taught to value human life above all. At the same time, we are told that academic medicine and politics don’t mix, when political actions of our own government enable the destruction of human life. In this piece, the artist focuses on the rhythmic routine of completing Anki, a common motion of life for many medical students, to call into attention the overwhelming loss of life within the Israel-Gaza conflict. At the time of creation, the known number of Palestinian deaths are in blue, Israeli deaths in red, and Israeli hostages in green. The artist urges viewers to consider the dangers that may arise in the habituation of daily violence and challenges us to critically question the concept of “apolitical medicine”.
Ivan Chan is an MS1 at the Perelman School of Medicine.
