The Journal / Conor McClave
Graham designed by Patricia Piccinini
'What is the perfect human body?': These artists have surprising answers
One exhibit asks what the human body would need to look like to withstand a car crash.
‘WHAT WOULD THE human body look like if it was designed to withstand the impact of a low impact car crash?’
That’s the question artist Patricia Piccinini had in mind when she created ‘Graham’, the perfectly curated human body designed to take the impact of 30km/h car crash.
His enlarged skull is filled with extra cerebrospinal fluid and ligaments to protect the brain, while the neck, one of the most vulnerable parts of the body in a collision, has been removed completely.
Sacks have been placed between each of his ribs to create airbag-like cushioning, and extra joints in his legs allow him to jump out of the way quickly or bend around a car bonnet.
Graham along with other futuristic exhibits are set to go on display on Friday at the Science Gallery Dublin in the Perfection exhibition, which mixes technology with science to question what perfection in the human body would look like.
Professor Ciaran Simms of Trinity College Dublin said this exhibit highlights the vulnerabilities of the human body.
“Understanding how we receive traumatic injuries is a prerequisite to designing safe environments. Unfortunately, the complexity of the human body and the environments in which we operate make this a difficult task.
“What does this mean for injury prevention? We might envisage a personalised musculoskeletal passport which encodes our body shape and frailty, and which communicates with protective equipment in a car,” he said.
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