Von Hagens is a German physician and anatomist who came up with the idea for an exhibition of real life human bodies after perfecting his process of Plastination. Plastination is a scientific method of preserving specimens for human education. Body fluids and fat are replaced with fluid plastics via a vacuum and the specimens are later hardened using heat, gas and light.
Plastination was initially developed to help medical students learn about anatomy and von Hagens saw its potential. It enabled him to put bodies into various stances to highlight anatomical features and muscle action. Why not create an exhibition based on this technique that will educate the general public about their bodies, disease, and the importance of a healthy lifestyle?
The exhibition charts human life from conception to puberty and old age. It displays over 200 Plastinates in all shapes and sizes – bodies in good health, disease and distress. It shows individual organs and transparent cross-sectional slices that look like X-rays, to illustrate how disease and illness affects the body. You can see how a stroke affects the brain and how smoking affects the lungs. The Plastinates are all doing things – running, gymnastics, playing chess, and fencing, to show muscle movement. You can also see what a hip replacement looks like and how mechanics are positioned in the body.
Body Worlds Highlights Include:
- Conception and Birth – foetuses in development from four weeks to eight months. All of the pre-natal specimens are from anatomical collections and morphological institutes.
- A heavily pregnant woman lying on her side with her baby inside. No details are revealed about the personal history of the exhibits, which is frustrating because you want to know more about them and why they died. However, the decision to do this protects their identity and stops you dwelling on the emotional aspect of the exhibition at the expense of the anatomy.
- The Fast Forward Face Transformer shows the effects of smoking and obesity on aging compared to the normal aging process.
- Centennial Village explains why certain regions of the world have a high proportion of centenarians. Okinawa in Japan, Ovodda in Sardinia, and the Hunza region of Pakistan.
- The Artists’ Gaze – computer simulations of the sight of Impressionist painters Monet and Degas, to illustrate how they saw. Both artists had cataracts and retinal eye disease.
- The animal specimens, which were donated by zoological institutes and died of natural causes. A man sits on a horse and both creatures hold their brains in their hands. Despite the anatomical size difference, both have similar sized brains – a humorous exhibit that is visually stunning.
Despite the potential for goriness and sensation Body Worlds is tastefully done. It celebrates the wonder of the human body by stripping it back to basics - muscles, bones, arteries and organs. The exhibits are artistically posed, doing things that you can relate to and this brings a sense of immediacy and power.
Body Worlds educates about the importance of a healthy lifestyle and looking after yourself, in a positive, inspiring way. You can see a diseased lung for yourself and see what effect obesity has on the body in the long-term. It is better than any ad campaign for healthy eating! It brings anatomy to life and makes it beautiful and fascinating.
Resources
For more information on Dr Gunther von Hagens and the location of the travelling exhibits see the Body Worlds website.
Nicci Talbot - Nicci Talbot is a journalist and author specialising in sex, health & wellbeing. She edits Rude Magazine, an online resource for better ...
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