Last Chance for BODIES: The Exhibition

Bodies are creepy and beautiful, and BODIES The Exhibition is, too. We went over the weekend, and we were fascinated. If you haven't been before, the BODIES show consists of real, actual, once-living, honest-to-goodness preserved human bodies that are posed in various positions: throwing darts, kicking a ball, or just stretching. All are skinless to better show the organs and muscles within. Downstairs, the circulatory system stands on its own, dyed a bright red. In another area, fetuses are displayed in various stages of development.

To preserve the bodies, the liquid in the bodies is replaced with a polymer. The bodies don't decay after that, because they're basically plastic. In one section of the exhibit were organs for the public to handle. We held a plastinated liver in our hands, and our first thought was to wonder if it was recyclable.

Is it for the squeamish? Well, it's not for the really squeamish. But the BODIES exhibition isn't disturbing, not on the visceral level. These bodies look elegant and unreal, like extraordinarily well-crafted sculptures. We had to keep reminding ourselves that what we were seeing was once full of life. The other attendees seemed to agree.Children peeked at exposed organs with their parents. Everyone had eyes filled with awe. It had the jovial, curious atmosphere of a hands-on museum.

Now, there is a level on which the BODIES exhibit is slightly disturbing, and that's the moral level: People must give their consent for their bodies to be used for educational or medical purposes, and it's unclear -- even to the organizers -- if consent was given for these bodies. The bodies used in the exhibit are sourced from a medical school in China, but the documentation of where they came from before that is a little unreliable. This is a gray area, but no one is trying to hide it: there's a note just above the ticket seller informing potential buyers of this controversy. If the consent issue doesn't bother you (and it doesn't seem to bother many - the exhibit hall was packed during our visit), it's time to hoof it downtown to see BODIES. It's worth your time.

March is the last month BODIES: The Exhibition will be in Seattle. Seattle is the last stop on their domestic tour, meaning March 2010 in Seattle is the last chance for anyone in the US to see this particular exhibition.

Sunday -Thursday 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. // 1505 5th Avenue, Corner of 5th and Pike // Tickets: $15-$19