Gunther Von Hagen's Body Worlds & The Story of the Heart
The Original Exhibition of Real Human Bodies

Science Centre, Toronto, Ontario
January 9th, 2010

www.bodyworlds.com
www.ontariosciencecentre.ca

By Laurie Lonsdale
Photos by Jaylyn Todd and Scott McAlpine


Although FAZER Magazine.com is known mainly for its coverage of the music world, we have recently branched out to encompass other forms of entertainment, in an effort to please our readers. Certainly our reporting on director Kevin Smith, Blue Man Group, Harley Davidson events, and assorted book reviews over the past year have all been leading up to this expansion. But in the past week we chose to take it yet a step further by including a visit to the Body Worlds exhibit, as we felt our particular readership and demographic would find it as compelling as we did.



The Body Worlds exhibit conjures up vast feelings for all that view it, as well as a surplus of words to describe it. While some see it as science, others view it as art. But regardless of whether you find it to be informative, beautiful, grotesque, or just plain twisted, it can't be denied that it's thought provoking and utterly riveting. How can one not marvel at what was once a living human being, now dissected, preserved, and displayed in a way that allows us to view the human body and all of its organs as we've never seen it before.



More than 28 million people the world over have visited the Body Worlds exhibits, beginning with Body Worlds 1, which debuted in Japan in 1995 and then traveled throughout Europe. And now, Body Worlds 3, which focuses on the 'Story of the Heart', is available for viewing at the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto. Using a few display pieces from past exhibits and adding them to an onslaught of new ones; the newest Body Worlds features over 200 human specimens, including a mixture of whole-body "Plastinates" as well as individual organs and translucent body slices. Altogether, they provide visitors with insight into the health and disease of the human body, and specifically focus on the workings of the cardiovascular system.



The awe-inspiring display is the brainchild of scientist Gunther Von Hagen, who invented "plastination" the preservation method used on the specimens in order to make this type of presentation possible. Via plastination, the soluble fat and bodily fluids are replaced with silicon rubber, polymers, and resins, thereby halting decomposition. The specimens are further tarped and cured with light, heat, and gases, rendering them dry and odourless. Then, together with physician and exhibition designer Dr. Angelina Whalley, the post-mortal bodies are sculpted and transformed into anatomical figures an intricate and time-consuming process that can take upwards of a year per individual.



Shortly after Von Hagen invented the plastination process, he then developed the body donor program – a plan and procedure that has since passed all ethics reviews and has satisfied the institutions that host the presentations. All donors are consenting adults who choose to give their bodies specifically to the Body Worlds educational exhibits. Although donor identities, ages, and their individual causes of death are not made public knowledge, we do know that the Institute for Plastination currently has 9000 donors on the register, 68 of which are Canadian. Sample donor information and documentation is enlarged and displayed for perusal in the Toronto exhibit.



Though a few random displays in Body Worlds Story of the Heart were of the animal variety, including a lamb and rooster, a massive brown bear, and an adult giraffe assembled and presented as translucent body slices; the majority of the exhibits were human whole body specimens modelled as various sports figures, dissected and posed to emphasize specific systems in the body. Among these included a female archer, hockey players, a skier, a gymnast, hurdler, a javelin thrower, and male and female figure skaters delicately balanced in a lift position. Although there are other human whole body displays that include a juxtaposed couple and a praying man, the majority are in athletic poses which allows specific muscle groups to be highlighted with organs arranged to illustrate the relationship to the rest of the body.









As the FAZER team wandered through the exhibit, talking to experts on hand, gathering information, and taking some of the most controversial yet amazing photos we’ve ever had the privilege of featuring, we were mindful of the way of other attendees were viewing and reacting to the presentation. While some were church-mouse quiet and approached it with trepidation, others used humour and laughter as a means of dealing with some of the shocking displays. Upon viewing diseased organs, some were overheard discussing their own health issues, while others vowed to take better care of themselves. Some asked questions and were anxious to partake in the few touch and feel organs that were on display, while still others stared in disbelief at the plastinates and questioned the authenticity. No wonder they questioned – indeed it was a surreal experience.



In the end, no matter how one approaches Body Worlds, no doubt they come away knowing something they didn’t before. Whether it’s a newfound respect for the human body, a better understanding of a medical problem, or a desire to donate their own body in order to further science and education, certainly they are better for the experience.