Thursday 20 September 2012

recollect yourself!

I was wondering what would happen if for some reason, a person had to have a body part amputated, and they decided they wanted to keep it. Perhaps have it stuffed and mounted in a glass case above the fireplace.

Would they be allowed to? After all, what's more theirs to keep than a bit of their own body?

Anyway, here's an idea for Art. With a capital A.

Artist creates virtual self by saving any bits of self that become seperated from self, and puts them into some sort of mould or something. Perhaps starting with an Anthony Gormley style body cast, into which is put any relevent material in something like the appropriate place.

Personally, I've lost quite a few teeth now. They're non-renewable (pretty much)

Finger and toenails are renewable.Scabs are renewable. Skin is renewable.  Would that putative artist collect dust and line the cast with it?

What about snot? shit? piss? tears? sweat? The molecules of which these things are comprised often were a physical part of the person that produced them. I suppose a line would have to be drawn somewhere.

I've read that the entire body gradually replaces itself with new stuff over time. After 7 years, all the bits of me that were me as a 37 year old are gone, and here I am as a 44 year old. Still got bones skin balls brains chromosomes and Islets of Langerhans, but they're all now comprised of different atoms. I suspect that's an overstatement. If the half life of an element is a month, and you have 13 stones of it, some of it is going to remain undecayed for a long long time.

driving lessons in Wallasey? learn to drive in Wirral? driving instructor in Birkenhead?

1 comment:

Pete said...

About 30 years ago, on Radio Norfolk, they had a piece on a guy who did ear wax sculptures. I have been unsuccessful in locating it using Google.