Bodies Revealed- Art,science or something more sinister?

09 Nov 2009 2 Comments

by wroteunder in Art

The website and PR machine labels it as ‘fascinating and real’. In short,Bodies Revealed,which has travelled all over the world and is now at The Custard Factory,is a collection of  body parts displayed behind glass cases,in glass jars and for the actual bodies out in the open in a variety of different poses,including sitting at a desk and getting ready to throw a basketball. I visited with a friend and with a hint of caution,my young daughter.

The first thing that astounded us was the price- £14 for an adult ticket,£10 for children aged 4-12. It is the most that I (well,my generous friend) have ever paid for an exhibition,and walked in expecting something spectacular.

And it was. The skeletons were real-complete with fingernails-and each information card taught me something new,from the effects of stroke upon the brain to the full and horrifying effects of smoking upon the lungs. My daughter was enthralled with the beautiful colours that show the full glory and complexity of the nervous system and look similar to strikingly coloured fish in a tank.

But I couldn’t help feeling uneasy. The human body is a fascinating machine and the exhibition took it apart beautifully and put it back together so effortlessly. Somehow,though,the actual bodies,preserved and prepared using a vacuum technique,became less exhibits to be wondered at,and more like the proverbial goldfish. Everyone was there,it seems,for their pound of flesh. perhaps it was the unnatural position of one body detailing the muscular system or the babies in jars,collected it says,during pregnancy (and miscarried naturally),but the whole thing took on something of a sinister twist.

It was maybe the moment that my daughter asked ‘what’s that?’ and to save confusion I answered ‘a person’. They were,still are,people,and there was no mention of this in the exhibition-no mention of age,country of origin,to all intentional purposes these really were just bodies.  I’m not saying that we should have been given a person’s full medical history,but acknowledgement of their very personal contribution to this very public showing wouldn’t have gone amiss.

Some have suggested that these bodies-prepared by a company in China,were in fact victims of execution or political prisoners,or were even used without families permission because the bodies were in fact ‘John Does’- unclaimed or unknown persons. The organisers claim that the people had freely and willingly donated their bodies for medical science,and I have to admit the mind boggles at why anyone would choose to exhibit themselves in such a way.

The truth is,despite reassurances,we will never know and the sign claiming that the bodies have ‘been treated with the dignity that they deserve’ next to a gift shop selling t-shirts and a photograph book was for me,too much to stomach.

Bodies Website: http://www.bodiesbirmingham.co.uk/news/

 

(Ed- Nicky Getgood linked us and asked me in the pub the other night “Was that your blog”. Yes,it is I. the one and only forgetful Sammy.Thanks for the link.)