"Body Worlds & The Cycle Of Life"
I went along to the Body Worlds Exhibition last weekend, and it was incredible. It show cased hundreds of exhibits of dissected humans (all of whom gave willing consent), all perfectly preserved and beautifully presented. The detail on some of the exhibits was just amazing, such as the capillaries in a human head - in which case a liquefied plastic was pumped through a cadavers heads bloodsteam, left to set, then all the flesh and bone was removed using enzymes. The result was a stunning 3D sculpture of a human head, complete with facial features, modeled using only the very fine mesh of blood vessels.
The theme of the exhibition was the cycle of life and it showed the development of the human zygote, through to embryo and fetus. There were also exhibits showing the effects of aging, particularly the wear on joints, diseases such as liver cirrhoses and smokers lungs.
The main attraction however were the Human Plastinates, which are full sized people, with their skin removed to show either their muscular, or nervous, or digestive systems. These were incredible and so life-like. Which is not at all surprising when you realize these exhibits aren't just plastic and resin, they're real people. Just a few years ago some of them may have visited a museums like these with their families.
Not surprisingly exhibits of this nature are going to stir up controversy amongst those who believe in the reverence of the human body, but everyone who donated their bodies did so to help educate and inspire new generations, and for that we should be eternally grateful. These exhibits are absolutely amazing and I highly recommend them everyone.
Its all well and good until the zombie virus brings them back, then you have incredibly resilient zombies to deal with!
ReplyDelete