Art by Isabel

I began by weaving electrical wires together to make a corset shape, but felt that this did not effectively show the concept of electricity passing through the body. I wanted my work to cause more of an impact, to scare or shock people in a way that Frankenstein would have scared its readers for fear of the unknown. I then used real organs alongside electrical wires and preserved them in resin, but found that these did not last long before they decayed and broke out of their glass restraints. I recorded them in my photography and pencil drawings, which I wanted to reflect a gothic aesthetic reminiscent of the laboratory in which Dr Frankenstein inhabited.

I then began to create faux organs using latex, felt and fake blood. Although clearly handmade, I felt that these had a much more gruesome appearance compared to the vintage looking photographs of very dead specimens. The fleshy textures in contrast with the cold metal and glass containers gave the whole collection of organs a sense of vivacity. I used electrical wires to join the organs together, and this was a constant theme running throughout my project. The ‘spark’ that differentiated the living from the dead is something I wanted to convey, and I feel I did effectively.

After reading the famous novel and watching the classic 1931 film adaptation, I concluded that Frankenstein’s monster is neither human nor unhuman; he has a body formed of human components and shows the qualities that we all possess in his instincts and personality. But the way in which he entered the world was supernatural, much like Adam and Eve in Paradise Lost. In the eyes of Shelley’s contemporaries, the act of creating life was solely something that God can, and should, do. But if the creature had been accepted into society, and treated as a human, would the story have had a different ending? And would that change the view of the novel’s critics?

I furthered my research to synthetic ‘life’ such as GMO plants and animals, and the use of real organs in research, artworks and exhibitions, such as Body Worlds. I began to think about the ethics of using real human (and animal) specimens in this way, and changing nature to suit our own agenda (GMO crops for example, which we are uncertain about their effects on our health). In some ways, this related to reviews of Frankenstein, which was considered impious at its time of publication; new technologies were as feared then as they are now.

The ambiance of Frankenstein’s laboratory created by Shelley is reflected well in the film, as shown in the  film seems to magnify the feats of Dr. Frankenstein, claiming that he first experimented on animals, corpses stolen from graves, and a separate human heart. The novel goes into little detail about the processes he undertook before the monster was created.

The brain matter has been used with copper sulfate to create a shimmering blue piece as well as elsewhere in the gallery. The article I read states ‘We are not informed from whose brain this matter has been extracted’. Which is an interesting fact and may spark debate on whether it has been ethically sourced.

The article also mentions that ‘the harsh fact that the only thing certain about this life is that, no matter what our status or achievements, our frail human matter will ultimately change, decay and end up as dust’. Death and rebirth is something I wanted to convey in my own work.

Shelley’s famous novel was inspired by various events in her life, including the suicide and resuscitation of her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft. She claimed that the Humane Society that saved her life caused her more suffering, as she did not want to be saved. The knowledge of resuscitation was only recently available to the the public at the time, and may have seemed like raising the dead had become possible.

The first human-to-human heart transplant took place in 1967. The doctor was declared the ‘new Frankenstein’, and the operation’s success changed the way people viewed life and death. Article:  Haunting Transplants: The Frankenstein Factor

In another article I read, entitled ‘A Lament Over Frankenstein, Nature De-Natured: A Deep Ecology with sacred Seed’ by Jea Sophia Oh.

I found the first image in a medical source book of illustrations. It shows part of the nervous system, which controls the network between all of the organs shown on the diagram. This is an interesting way of showing the human body, as it has been deconstructed to show the nervous system clearly. 

I also looked into crime scene chalk outlines, as I thought that this might also be a good way to present my work. A chalk outline is used around dead bodies to provide context for photographs, but they are rarely used to avoid contaminating the crime scene. 

The Ethics Advisory Committee confirmed the findings of the original ethics review - that the exhibit has considerable educational value and is appropriate for the Science Center.  What makes the exhibit compelling (real bodies in everyday poses) is also what makes it controversial. Without those very features, the exhibit would not be such a powerful educational experience. The plastinates are displayed in the context of science, health and medical education, and create an atmosphere of respect. 

One review I read stated ‘I was frankly offended by the "development of the body" section, which showed the development of the fetus. I am rather on the liberal side of the spectrum when it comes to women's health, but it was disturbing to see fetuses in jars for every week of development, canned like pickled vegetables, when they could have been someone's baby.’ 

1. I started with kidneys. I created the shape I wanted using purple felt, and then added a piece of white felt to the opening to hold the electrical wires. I felt that the colour of the felt was too bright purple, so painted the kidneys with fake blood. This gave it a more realistic texture and appearance, and I used a baloon to fill the middle of the kidney so it didn’t fall flat. However, the fake blood did not dry so ran down to the bottom of the jar and had to keep being replenished. I therefore purchased a different type of fake blood (which dries) and this seemed to stick to the felt better. 

2. Next, I created the heart specimen. I used a red-purple felt this time as it looked like a more realistic colour. I also used white for the fatty areas of the heart. I created the main body of the heart first, and then added the veins and arteries afterwards, and soaked the whole piece in fake blood. The blood made the texture look more real. Instead of using a jar, I used a metal tray because I felt that a variety of containers would look more effective than all in jars. Also, in my opinion, the heart looked more real than the kidneys so didn’t need to hide behind the glass to appear more realistic. I added grey and black wires to the tubes of felt, some of which will connect to other organs, and others (like the various plugs left on) are left hanging out onto the floor. 

3. I wanted the organs to spill out onto the floor, and not all be contained in the containers I put them in. I created the small intestine using neutral latex over red material and filled this with play-dough to fill it out. I felt this gave a really fleshy texture, so recreated it on a larger scale (large intestine). This time, I stuffed it with cotton wool as play dough was difficult to stuff into the middle on the latex tubes. I poured fake blood into them, and as it oozed out it looked effective. I placed the large intestines in a metal bowl, and let some of the liquid stay in the base of the container. I let the intestines spill out onto the floor where they were connected to the wires. I decided to simply use an elastic band because I wanted the network of organs to look handmade, like a ‘patchwork’ reminiscent of Frankenstein’s monster.

4. Next I created the liver using purple latex. after sewing it together I filled it with water to fill it out. I then placed it in a metal bowl, and poured fake blood over the top; as the blood dried it created an interesting marbled pattern. However, I felt that the liver looked more realistic when the paint was wet, so will add more when I put it on display. 

5. I created the pancreas out of yellow felt covered in neutral latex. I stuffed this into a bottle and filled it with a mix of water and fake blood. I liked the way in which the dark liquid obscured the latex object inside, so it is unclear what it really is. The liquid did however change the colour of the latex, and it now appears more white than yellow.

Balfour goes on to compare the creation of Frankenstein to the creation of Adam and Eve. 

‘It is important that the creature comes into the world fully formed, not as an infant or child. Adam and Eve are, to judge from the Bible’s story, the only humans ever not to have undergone a process of growing up.’ This links the monster’s creation to the biblical story and he was created similarly to Eve, from the body parts of another human. Therefore, despite not having a normal human childhood stage, the monster appears to still be human in the same way as Adam and Eve.

The monster’s character, physical makeup and ‘birth’ all elude to him being human. However, the other characters are afraid of him due to his unsightly appearance and giant stature and therefore outcast him as a supernatural, unhuman being. Balfour refers to this as an ‘aesthetic-ideological regime of the normal.’