Bodies Revealed

Over the summer I visited a number of exhibitions and one that will resinate with me for quite some time was in Liverpool called "Bodies Revealed". Although I am a textiles student, I am very interested in human anatomy and the science involved with our inner workings. I would like to incorporate this genuine interest in some of my future work. I was very dissapointed to be told that photography was strictly prohibited, therefore images I have included in this post have been found on the internet, however they are the same specimens displayed at the exhibition.

The exhibition was comprised of over 200 human body specimens, whole and partial preserved through the revolutionary technique called polymer preservation. This technique replaces all bodily fluids with a silicone based substance, permenantly preserving the body. When asked by a curious young girl, one of the tour guides described the muscles of a preserved body to feel like "the rubber tyres of a car". The extraordinary and educational anatomical journey allows you to explore the intricate functions deep inside the human body. Accompanying the exhibits, a thorough explanation of the workings of all systems of the human body; Skeletal, muscular, nervous, respiratory, digestive, urinary, reproductive, endocrine, and circulatory.

"Bodies Revealed " offers an intimate and informative view into the human body. As well as offering a stimulating and inspiring insight into how the human body works, the exhibition also promotes healthy life choices by demonstrating the effects of desease and unhealthy lifestyles on the human body. These examples can be seen throughout the exhibition, one that resinnated in my mind was the juxstaposition of a healthy lung next to a smoker's lung. You can see cancer and liver desease in their true form, as well as looking at the inside of human bones and see the nervous system before your very eyes.

 

 

 

I was overwhelmed by the exhibition which was both shocking and macabre, yet at the same time thought provoking. At the time of viewing the exhibition it was easy to lose sight of the fact that the "specimens" were once people with families, friends and futures; yet here they were stripped bare. These people have donated their bodies to science allowing future generations to learn. It was quite difficult to digest the fact that in all honesty, this is all we humans are, bone, muscle and miscellaneous tissue, vunerable to the way we lead our lives. Although these human artefacts were in every sense 'real' it quickly became apparent to me that they held no essence of what really makes us human.