Despite – perhaps because of – the Bishop of Manchester’s comments, last night I took up my invite to the launch of the Body Worlds show at MOSI. My main reason was to see what all the fuss was about for myself. And I wasn’t alone – there were upwards of 350 other people there, seemingly for pretty similar reasons.
Having started downstairs with drinks and finger food (not on a theme, thankfully), we were then invited to go upstairs and view the show – housed in the grade 1 listed 1830 warehouse. As soon as we shuffled in, a reverent hush descended. People read carefully, walked slowly, studied closely. I wasn’t sure what to expect or how I’d feel, I suspect others were the same. But mostly, it’s case after case of bones and organs, laid out and labelled as if this was an old school medical building (not dissimilar to Surgeon’s Hall in Edinburgh).
There are actually very few posed “plastinated” figures – maybe half a dozen or so. Some are not exactly to my taste (playing poker) but all of them are fascinating in terms of their displayed anatomy and physiology - detailed, beautiful, complex. Literally peeling away the skin has allowed me to see what's underneath - and it's pretty darn amazing. So no, there’s no gore, nothing to be squeamish about, no sensationalism - just freaks like me.
And while I’m about it, let’s clear up a widely-misquoted “fact”: these bodies are willingly donated to Von Hagens in the full knowledge of how they’ll be used and presented. So if you were thinking about donating your body to medical science, don’t fear – you won’t end up in here like this. You’re more likely end up as some junior med students’ cadaver… (probably a much worse fate knowing some med students!).
The worst bit about it? Honestly? The plastic plants throughout the space. Why were they thought to be necessary? Maybe the good doctor “did” them too. Oh, and the gorilla – wrong, just wrong (has to be seen to be believed).
But apart from that, it was not nearly as sensational, or possibly even as creative, as I thought it might be. And no, there wasn’t a single protester or placard in sight…
technorati tag: gunther von hagens, body worlds 4, mosi
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