Körperwelten: the fascination of authenticity

As the now notorious Professor Gunther von Hagenss controversial “Body Worlds” exhibition finally reaches London, Dora Vertes remains outraged after seeing it in Brussels ...

he human body is the most fascinating machine I have ever seen. I am now finishing my third year of medical school, and I chose to study medicine so that I might understand the body better.

I have studied the anatomy of the human body and done dissection: I learnt to respect death. I have met patients, listened to their problems, and tried to understand them: I have learnt to respect life.

Gunther von Hagens thinks that everyone has to learn about the body. He uncovers it to let people see whats inside—the machine, without soul. He invented a technique called plastination—the fixation of an organic object, in this case the human body—which prevents putrefaction. After dissection, the body is dehydrated and then impregnated with a resin that polymerises and hardens in the tissues.

The technique itself is interesting: the dissected part of the body is hard, dry, doesnt smell or degrade, is easy to manipulate, and keeps for a long time. As a teaching material, it would have been a fantastic aid for healthcare professionals.

But von Hagens didnt develop the technique for medical students or doctors. No, after thousands of hours of work, dissection, and plastination, he put up a public exhibition. An exhibition in which bodies are presented in artistic poses that remind you of sculptures or paintings.

When the exhibition came to Brussels, he was invited to come and take part in a debate with students at my medical school. We wanted to know if he meant to create art (which would be disapproved of), or if he wanted to show the human body to all. We also wondered where the bodies came from.

He did come and speak, but he didnt give any answers. He tried to elude our questions and was upset that no one from television was there: only radio journalists were let in.

A number of us went together to see the exhibition in the cellars of a slaughterhouse in Brussels, which seemed an inappropriate setting. The bodies were beautifully dissected, and seeing the technique of plastination was astounding.

But the rest was horror disguised: they had no skin, no face, and looked too beautiful to be frightening. The artistic poses were shocking. The woman who was eight months pregnant was too much for many of us. There were children running around; everybody obviously interested, excited. Had they realised that they were looking at people who once lived, loved, and died?

As future doctors, we are told every day that patients are people and not just cases and bodies. At this exhibition we seemed to be the only viewers to think this. But at least, we could find answers to some of our questions. We all got the impression that von Hagens actually meant to show artistic poses to attract people, to appeal to human curiosity. Horror can be strangely attractive.

If von Hagens had meant the exhibition to be educational, as he claimed, then why did he put the bodies in these shocking, artificial poses? His main goal seemed clear to us: money. The entrance fee was 10 (£6.15; $8.75).

At the exit was one last shock: you could write your name on a list declaring that you agree to plastination of your body after death. Von Hagens did not promise that you would be chosen, but if youre young enough and are in good shape you have every chance. This disgusts me. How can a doctor, in the name of education, overwrite something as important to our society as the death ritual?

How can von Hagens expose bodies of real people, for everyone to see or touch, without any respect? We learn, during our studies, to respect the human body; a respect anyone would find natural, even necessary, when lying in bed in a hospital, or standing next to a loved one who had just died.

A grave mistake has been made, a limit has been crossed. The body should be considered as a whole: a beautiful machine but also the home for the soul. I think we need this limit to orient our lives.

The exhibition started in London on 23 March 2002. I recommend that every medical student goes to see it. Otherwise how can you believe that this disguised horror which no one seems to notice is true? So much for the fascination of authenticity.