This is gross, yet I can’t take my eyes away from it. It’s a shark without its skin, part of Dr Gunther von Hagens’ new exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London. Dr Von Hagens’ team carefully removed his skin to show the blood system underneath.
The rest of the animals — more than 100 specimens — are equally striking, from elephants to gorillas to horses to ostriches to bulls to dogs. Fascinating stuff. If you are in London, this is a must see.
Dr. von Hagens is the mastermind behind the famous Body Works exhibition, which has been going around the world for years now. In the case of the shark, Dr. von Hagens injected a red liquid resin into the shark main arterial network after removing the skin. He did the same with a horse and a dog, resulting in the striking images below.
His other animals are made using his plastination process, in which the water and fat are replaced by special plastics. This results in specimens that can be set up for exhibition but do not decay. [Natural History Museum and Body Worlds of Animals]
Copyright Gunther von Hagens’ BODY WORLDS, Institute for Plastination, Heidelberg, Germany.
Copyright Gunther von Hagens’ BODY WORLDS, Institute for Plastination, Heidelberg, Germany.
Copyright Gunther von Hagens’ BODY WORLDS, Institute for Plastination, Heidelberg, Germany.
Copyright Gunther von Hagens’ BODY WORLDS, Institute for Plastination, Heidelberg, Germany.
Dr Gunther von Hagens and Dr Angelina Whalley.
Copyright Gunther von Hagens’ BODY WORLDS, Institute for Plastination, Heidelberg, Germany.
