Body Worlds Exhibition

AN EXHIBITION LIKE NO OTHER HAS OPENED IN LONDON !

EXHIBITION ADDRESS

BODY WORLDS
Atlantis Gallery, Old Truman Brewery, 146 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL

Hotline: 020 - 7053 0000
Fax: 020 - 7053 0020

BODY WORLDS, the world famous exhibition featuring anatomical and whole body specimens, opened in London on March 23rd at The Atlantis Gallery at The Old Truman Brewery in London's Brick Lane.

All of the bodies belonged to people who declared during their lives that their bodies should be made available after their deaths for the educational benefit of medical professionals and non-professionals alike. The specimens are permanently preserved by plastination - an impregnation technique carried out in a vacuum where the body tissue is completely saturated with special plastics and invented by the creator of the exhibition, Prof. Gunther von Hagens MD. Not only does plastination allow the permanent preservation of the specimen, it also allows entirely new forms of anatomical display, since the plastics lend a high degree of rigidity to the tissue. Anatomically prepared whole bodies, for instance, can now be displayed in upright, lifelike poses. Even isolated anatomical structures (the nervous and circulatory systems for instance) can be exhibited in a way hitherto unseen. The BODY WORLDS exhibition is unique.

Two new plastinates are also included: a laterally exploded body - The Swimmerin - is the only horizontally floating plastinate that exposes the view of the spinal column with the vertebrae on one side and the intervertebral disks on the other side. The internal organs have not been sliced through but are assigned to the right and left body halves, respectively, based on aesthetic and educational criteria.

The newly added "Pitcher" concentrates on the joints and displays the complex muscle actions that occur when throwing an object.

Furthermore, a fascinating new exhibit "Vessel Plastinates" will be presented for the very first time and shows the complete independent blood vessel systems of single organs and whole bodies more comprehensively than they have ever been seen before.

Schools can order teaching materials free of charge. They include an exhibition video, a 100-page guide to the exhibition, posters and leaflets.

Objectives of the exhibition

The aim of the exhibition is for visitors to learn more about their bodies and to offer the opportunity, particularly for the general public, to understand the human body and its functions better.

Viewing the exhibits allows a real sense of the nature of our bodies and allows us to recognise each human's individuality and the anatomical beauty inside. The authenticity of the specimens on display is essential for such insights as every human being is unique. Humans reveal their individuality not only through the visible exterior but also because the inside of every human body is also distinctly different. Position, size, shape and structure of skeleton, muscles, nerves and organs determine our "face within". It would be impossible to convey this anatomical individuality with models, as a model is nothing more than an interpretation. The authenticity of the specimen, however, is fascinating and enables the observer to experience the marvel of the human being and discover the mysteries under the skin.

The Institut for Plastination cooperates closely with the Plastination Centre at the State Medical Academy of Bishkek in Kirgizstan, and with the Institute for Plastination at the Medical School in Dalien in the People's Republic of China, where Prof. Dr. von Hagens teaches and conducts research as honorary and visiting professor. The newly founded private institute "Plastination City" in China promotes the creation of plastinates.

The plastination process is very labour intensive and thus very expensive. Based on an average labour input of 1500 hours, production costs for one posed plastination of a whole body range from

The proceeds from the current BODY WORLDS exhibition are used to finance plastination research in Heidelberg, Bishkek (Kirgizstan), and Dalian (People's Republic of China) as well as the establishment of a second and third exhibition. With an estimated cost of $30 million to $60 million, it will take about another ten years until a planned "Museum of Man" can be erected.

Scientific Director of the Institut for Plastination and inventor of the plastination technique. For his biography see www.bodyworlds.com/en/gvh.htm on the Internet.

So far more than 8.5 million people throughout the world have visited the BODY WORLDS exhibition. BODY WORLDS has become the most successful exhibition of human anatomy of all time.

Japan 1996/97/98 - 2.8 million visitors
Mannheim November 1997 to March 1998 780,000 visitors
Vienna April to August 1999 - 550,000 visitors
Basel September 1999 to January 2000 - 600,000 visitors
Cologne February to July 2000 - 1.1 million visitors
Oberhausen August 2000 to January 2001 - 690,000 visitors
Berlin February to September 2001 - 1.4 million visitors
Brussels September 2001 to March 2002 - 505.000 visitors

You can purchase tickets at the box office at the exhibition's entrance or buy them in advance on the Internet at www.bodyworlds.com (plus booking fee). Click on the Online Ticketshop and print out your ticket immediately at home.

£8 Concessions: Trainees and students up to and incl. 30 years, pensioners, disabled persons and an accompanying person, if they cannot visit the exhibition on their own. Groups (minimum number 10 persons).

We offer an audio guide system for individual tours of the exhibition. It provides detailed information on nearly all the exhibits. The entire tour lasts two and a half hours. The audio guides are available in nine languages.

While objects on display in medico-historical museums are not very comprehensible for the ordinary man in the street the human nervous system, for example, isolated via plastics infusion are not only instructive, but beautiful."

Visitors simply want to know what the "inside" of a human looks like, and to this end they want to see authentic plastinates. The whole-body plastinates fulfil this wish; they are credible. (...) In an enlightened society laypersons are also entitled to ask what man looks like "from inside". If medical students are allowed to prepare corpses during their studies the exhibition of anatomical specimens for the instruction of the ordinary man in the street cannot be unreasonable. In a modern society, the instruction of the ordinary person does not rank lower in ethical terms than the qualification of members of the medical profession.î

"Not only does the exhibition provide us with interesting insights in human anatomy, which are usually reserved for physicians and medical students, it also shows us the marvel of life in an impressive way. With our own eyes we can see the perfection of the human body which no technical construction will ever attain."

"Nobody attempts to mimic the marvel of human creation, rather, here it is revealed as marvel. Here, nobody attempts to reshape bodies as works of art, rather, here we can see what a unique, inimitable work of art the human body is. Here, nobody plays around blasphemously with corpses, rather, people can fill their knowledge gaps. Instead of horror and fear we see enlightenment and reverence."

"It is as silent as during a mass. (...) No giggling, no grinning, no cynicism (...)."

Congratulations and much admiration for the expert and intelligent way the human body and its system has been exhibited. "

"Before it started the press wrote a lot about the "controversial exhibition". The result after my visit: "I enormously increased my knowledge within a few hours. The influence on physical and mental attitudes between people cannot be overestimated." I really gained a lot from this visit!"

"I have seen the exhibition now for the second time. It profoundly changed my attitude towards my own body, towards life and death. I feel myself in a different way now, more intensely, and I appreciate life much more. This exhibition evokes change, this alone makes it so important."

"Once again I was fascinated and shaken in a positive way when seeing the complex, perfect structure of our body, and I experienced a very strange amicable feeling towards all the other visitors to the exhibition who were in the same room as I. I had the feeling as if we already knew each other inside out. This made me feel humorous. And as I watched the dressed, living bodies standing next to the plastinated, mute bodies I constantly had to smile to myself. It is really amazing how close strangers can suddenly feel to each other."

"I appreciate your courage to set up such a project with so much success in Germany where people normally are quite prudish. I am deeply impressed. However, I can also understand people voicing negative opinions on this issue, what we need is more enlightenment and you have made a great start. I wish you all the best."

"What an incredible learning experience! To separate the mind and body has added much to my life! Thank you!"

"I am now able to understand my body in a much better way! Congratulations on such a sensational exhibition and a very enlightening tour. I hope that this exhibition will gain more acceptance."

"Thank you for such an examination of the human body. I look forward to see it again. Thank you very much for your time and such wonderful moments."

I am so pleased to see this great exhibit. I feel hat the educational value of your work is a new high mark in our history. Please accept my congratulations. I could not be more pleased to see that you have included our great friend ÑThe Horseî in your exhibit. To bring the Horse and Human together in this way is a tribute to our relationship with this wonderful animal. Keep up the fantastic work you are doing!"