So I’m walking around the Wellcome Collection’s new exhibition Exquisite Bodies when I see this here sign.
Well what would you do?
Behind the veil lurked a cabinet full of hairy, swollen groins, each disfigured with its own flavour (and I wish I hadn’t just used that word) of pustule and canker. A curious choice of content for the Wellcome Collection’s summer blockbuster. And one I couldn’t bring myself to photograph.
The putrid genitalia are perhaps the most grotesque exhibit in this 19th Century freak show of anatomical wax models. But everywhere you turn, you’re confronted with images of disfigured and dissected human bodies. Some were used as teaching aids for doctors and midwives, while others were to titilate the Victorian public and underscore the horrors of VDs.
Because you’re worth it
As (nearly) always at the Wellcome, the exhibition is utterly absorbing and works on any level. If you just want to turn up and gawp at the macabre, you’ll find plenty of bleak eye candy. If you want to take time and read all the panels, you’ll uncover a tale from the side-history of medicine that you’re unlikely to be aware of. I was particularly intrigued by the story of Joseph Towne, who served as anatomical model maker to Guy’s Hospital for over 50 years, slaving away in a basement, on his own, surrounded by his ghoulish creations. Surely a Tim Burton film in there somewhere.
Exquisite Bodies, 30 July-18 October at the Wellcome Collection. Entry is free. See the website for associated events and introductory videos, and read my Londonist review here.
I remember seeing some of the Joseph Towne anatomical wax models during visits to Guy’s for developmental neurobiology seminars. I think they were conveniently located in a room next to the area where boxed wine, sausage rolls, and crisps were served after the talks. I would appreciate the models more now, since I spend a good deal of time dissecting and teaching head and neck anatomy.
OT, but are any of the London NNers going to take part in the One and Other living monument at the Fourth Plinth? I learned about it through Ravelry, as a number of fiber artists and knitters have signed on to occupy the plinth.
The best place to see his models is King’s, where the Gordon Museum has stacks of the things. However, it’s really hard to get into unless you’re a member of the university.
I wish I’d signed up for the plinth. A couple of friends are doing it (one at 3am on a Sunday morning). I’m not aware of any NNers.
The plinth-sitting project is pretty interesting, IMHO. I read that one of the fiber artists will be re-skeining handdyed sock yarn in London Underground colors that she created for the event, as a part of a London-themed raffle prize for a charity that benefits a community in Peru. I think she’s scheduled to be on the plinth August 6. If I can enter the raffle from the US, I will do so – it’s a good cause, and I would love to have LU-themed yarn and stitch markers.