Opening the inside to years of Fear

I never quite understood the controversy that surrounded the BODY WORLDS exhibition, where real human cadavers are expertly dissected and aranged for public viewing. I suppose being a biologist, and having a strong interest in death and mortality, I resent this reaction that is driven by both a pointless fear of death and an utter ignorance of biology. Going to BODY WORLDS was interesting for me because I was intrigued to see the reactions of other members of the public. Graphic designers discussing the nerves of the body, and an old man looking at examples of disease processes that may be occuring in his (and progressively my) body. I found it very positive and rewarding to see open minds and an awareness of the reality of our biological nature.

What for me would be a natural extension, a public autopsy, has however stirred huge controversy. I was very moved when I went to spectacular bodies at the Hayward gallery (in many ways more ‘radical’ than BODY WORLDS), because anatomy was considered so differently in the past than it is now. We were much closer to death in the past (e.g. most deaths would occur in the home rather than clincal hospitals or nursing homes), and thus they were much more aware of the biological processes that happen within. We have become experts at disguising our food (meat that looks identical to what is inside us) in a way that allows us to divorce its materiality from our own. Death only happens in stupid Hollywood fantasies and far-away countries (whos lives are less valuable than our own[1]…).

We have become so fearful (and / or cognitively detached) from what is so fundamental to what we are. Of course people may be offended by a public autopsy — that is because they are so pre-conditioned by ignorance and fear in the first place. The whole response is very disappointing, people have complained about a televised version of the autopsy — just don’t watch it if you are incapable of understanding anything about yourself! Amazingly, 33 people had complaind to the television-station broadcasting the autospsy before it even started! This whole process may have been spectacularised, but without people pushing against the boundaries of our societies ignorance, we will get nowhere…

LINKS:
An account of the autopsy
Info on the media storm

[1] Evidenced by the appaling disinterest of the media to the number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan…

Posted by Ian at November 21, 2002 01:50 PM | TrackBack §