Hopefully we all know crying is good for you, but have you ever wondered if there is anything different about the variety of tears we spew out of our eyes. Crying occurs for a variety of reasons, from the necessary hydration in the eye, to the variety of emotions that we experience. Recently there was a photographer by the name Rose-Lynn Fisher who published a book of remarkable images. By using powerful scanning electron microscopes, she magnified objects by hundreds or even thousands of times in size. By doing this she revealed startling, abstract forms that are far too small to see with the naked eye. Using this astounding technology she started a new project called, “Topography of Tears.” 

She started this out by catching one of her own tears and looking at it under a microscope. Seeing the abstract molecular build of these tears led her to question if there was more to tears than one would expect. Over the course of a year she collected 100 tears from both herself and a handful of other volunteers, including a newborn baby.

Tears of change, photo © Rose-Lynn Fisher, courtesy of the artist and Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

Tears of ending and beginning, photo © Rose-Lynn Fisher, courtesy of the artist and Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

Onion tears, photo © Rose-Lynn Fisher, courtesy of the artist and Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

Tears of grief, photo © Rose-Lynn Fisher, courtesy of the artist and Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

Basal tears, photo © Rose-Lynn Fisher, courtesy of the artist and Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

Laughing tears, photo © Rose-Lynn Fisher, courtesy of the artist and Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica, CA