Plasticized corpse exhibition opens today in Taipei

A journalist admires a dissected camel at the National Taiwan Science Education Center in Taipei yesterday. More than 200 pieces of human and animal bodies and organs are on display as part of Body Worlds, including 20 skinless dissected cadavers in various lifelike poses. PHOTO: AFP

Body Worlds, a traveling exhibition showcasing preserved corpses, opens its doors today at the National Taiwan Science Education Center.

"The basic intention of this exhibit is education -- to let people know what we are made of, to look into the authentic body and see how beautiful we are and how fragile we are at the same time," said Angelina Whalley, Body Worlds chairperson.

Among the several specimens showcased include slices of a thigh and a brain, a knee with arthritis, a brain after a stroke and a lung infected with tuberculosis.

Full-body specimens of humans and animals in lifelike poses are also featured.

The "Flying Skier" poses in mid-air to offer visitors a view of the organs inside the body's cavities. The "Swordsman" is divided in half to provide a view of the spine and its nerve endings.

All of the specimens are real corpses preserved and posed by Gunther Von Hagens using a process dubbed "plastination."

"I don't think that any of these exhibits should scare children. It is all very artistic," Academia Sinica Vice President Ovid Tzeng (曾志朗) said.

As Tzeng spoke, he sat down for a game of chess across from a corpse frozen in the act of contemplating the next move.

The skull of the "Chess Player" has been split open to allow visitors a clear view of the detailed pathways of nerves coming out of the spinal cord and the components of the brain.

"We don't just show the normal body; we also show the diseased body," Whalley said.

"You can see what a tumor is about, what smoking and drinking can do to your body," she said.

While the exhibit has earned praise as a unique educational experience and encouraged visitors to donate their bodies and organs for medical research upon their death. However, it has also caused many to consider Von Hagens a "Dr. Frankenstein."

"Twenty-five years ago when I visited Taiwan, I was delighted by the power to learn," Von Hagens said.

The exhibit will be open to visitors from today through Oct 24, from 10 am to 9 pm. Tickets are NT$280 for adults, NT$200 for students, and NT$140 for children and senior citizens.