Plastination a bold approach to art, education

Erik Dickson
The Brock Press
February 17, 2010

© Gunther von Hagens, Institute for Plastination, Heidelberg, Germany, www.bodyworlds.com.

While a traditional education in the human body usually means several hours spent reading a thick textbook, one exhibit at the Ontario Science Centre is taking the standard anatomy lesson to a totally different level.

Dr. Gunther von Hagens’ Body Worlds exhibit has become famous worldwide. Utilizing a technique called plastination invented by von Hagens in 1977, he replaces the fluid in human cells with reactive plastics, creating specimens that are frozen in time.

The Toronto exhibit features over 200 plastinated specimens, including several full bodies that are displayed in ways that are both uniquely educational and stunningly artistic.

Although the series of exhibits have not been without controversy – with many arguing them to be a mistreatment of human bodies – their educational value is undeniable for most of those who experience them.

“Although I came to the [Toronto] exhibit with a fair amount of concern and trepidation, I was so very impressed,” said one visitor. “I was given a view into the human anatomy that no book, picture or video could ever replace.”

Body Worlds breaks down barriers that were previously crossed only by doctors and medical students. Full bodies show visitors the intricacies of human muscles, tissues and bones, while other displays provide an up-close look at organs and how they work.

One area compares healthy lungs to those of a smoker, with three-dimensional evidence of tobacco’s harmful effects. Other specimens show the effects of alcoholism on the liver, and how diseases affect the body.

Recently added to the exhibit, “The Hockey Couple” depicts a dueling pair of ice hockey players fit with skates, sticks and helmets.

“I know that hockey is more than a national pastime and a wonderful obsession,” said von Hagens in a press release. “I wanted to honour Canada’s passion for hockey and created these specimens that would resonate with the Canadian public.”

In a quest to bring human anatomy to the public, von Hagens has had over 10,000 people volunteer their bodies for plastination. Through dramatic poses and carefully displayed specimens, guests to the exhibit learn a great deal about how their bodies are built and how they operate.

While working as a scientist and anatomist in his home country of Germany, von Hagens developed the process of plastination and patented it.

Although von Hagens has focused on human anatomy, he has also plastinated several animals, including a 275 kilogram brown bear and cross section slices of a fully grown giraffe.

In addition to the one in Toronto, there are similar Body Worlds exhibits in Philidelphia, Singapore and Germany.

Body Worlds & The Story of the Heart is at the Ontario Science Centre until Feb. 28. For more information, visit bodyworlds.com

Originally Printed: The Brock Press