Dancing around the bodies exhibit

Picture this: interpretive dancers moving poetically across a worn and wooden varnished floor. Dim lighting and soft beautiful music set a mystical tone as the performer’s feet quietly pad across a gallery filled with skinned corpses bolted to platforms and frozen in various poses. Wait—what?

A UTD dance class recently performed at Bodies…The Exhibition in downtown Dallas at the request of UTD alumna Brianna Commins, Bodies…The Exhibition education outreach coordinator.

My focus was distracted from the UTD dance performance by the exhibit itself.

The hall was rather pleasant. A subtle woody smell lingered in the old building and a gentle melody played on loop. A kind docent, adorned in a white lab coat, greeted me warmly and asked whether I had any questions.

It was therefore, to me, all the more shocking when I came face-to-face with a meticulously skinned real-life human body, carrying a football and frozen as if caught mid-sprint.

Before I had entered the exhibit I truly expected to be blown away by such a unique experience. But when I finally saw the bodies for myself I was hit with a much different feeling. Perhaps it was the early bird arrival or a bad cup of coffee that made my stomach turn flips and threaten to empty its contents onto the exhibit floor, but probably not.

I inquired whether anyone had ever lost their cool while browsing. Commins laughed and said she’d heard of it happening at other Bodies exhibits, but never at the Dallas location.

I guess I understand. I didn’t get sick either. Instead I became disgusted as I continued deeper, room after room filled with human limbs and sliced bodies.

It simply goes against my internal ethical code. I think something is wrong with walking through a building displaying dead bodies cut into pieces—is that so wrong?

Keep in mind that these people on display did not give any form of consent for this treatment. In addition, all of these individuals are from China. So while it is not out of the question, I do believe it would be more appropriate to display these people doing things other than playing football, volleyball or throwing a discus.

One of the bodies had been sliced vertically from head to toe and placed adjacent to its own pieces, giving itself a high-five. Disturbing or awesome? You decide.

You know what would be impressive? Pulling off the same exhibit with artificial materials instead. It would be as neat as it is now, but then the five and six year olds who come to visit wouldn’t have to fail to comprehend the gravity of what their eyes are seeing.

Nonetheless, I acknowledge that some things just aren’t for me. I respect what Bodies…The Exhibit is trying to do, but for me they failed. Instead of a spiritual or artistic celebration of the human body I see only insult of the human form.

If this is such an acceptable thing to do, why do the bodies belong to unclaimed and unidentified individuals from China? Do these criteria make it right to deny them a proper burial? Would you consent to such treatment?

-Shane Damico