If you've been with me this far on my A to Z April adventure, you probably have the impression that I'm a fangirl for body horror and slasher pics. I'm not.
Mind you, I will readily admit that I have at times been possessed by the need to binge-watch Dexter with his strictly stoical attitude to dismembering humans and his boat with the snigger-worthy name "Slice of Life".
I recently saw Michael C Hall play the lead in David Bowie's last work Lazarus and have to admit it was a weensy bit like watching Dexter in a musical. Disturbing on so many levels. More on that tomorrow.
Today is dedicated to the letter S.
Most of the cases in the Medicine Man Gallery — the one where lots of Sir Henry's quirky bits are permanently visible — most of the cases are lined with red. In none is the colour more ghoulishly complimentary than the selection of shiny blades.
Surgical instruments.
A glinting collection of
cutlery specifically designed for slicing through human flesh ...or hacksawing
through bone... in the removal of limbs and digits, it makes my mouth go a
little bit dry.
At
certain blood-drenched moments in time, surgeons of varying skill and degree of
sympathy for life, must have thought,
" Hmmm, what I need here is a more efficient slicing device. This one is not pointy / long/ bendy/ thin/ sharp/ strong / scary enough for my purposes.
" Hmmm, what I need here is a more efficient slicing device. This one is not pointy / long/ bendy/ thin/ sharp/ strong / scary enough for my purposes.
That bread knife in the scullery might do a better or job.
Or perhaps a cross between that and the scythe that those chaps who harvest the corn use.
I think I shall pop down to the
blacksmith and have him knock- up something more efficient, something
specifically suited to my purposes. I'll have my friend Leo whip up a few rough
sketches of what I have in mind to take with me."
And I'm almost certain there must be bad puns out
there about orthopaedic surgeons not having a funny bone in their body.
I can't begin to imagine what sort of supremely sharp circular saw was needed to create these wafer thin slices of plastinated human being.
But they're oddly beautiful and fascinating.
They just may be the ultimate example of slice of life.
And Dexter would love them.
My posts all feature images of and by the Wellcome Collection, Euston, London: the free destination for the incurably curious.
I think I'd rather not know what the doctor's using to slice and dice me. You're right about the human body images. Great way, and bloodless method of showing we're all pretty much the same on the inside. Find me here, LINK
ReplyDeleteI'm with you. Sometimes ignorance IS bliss. Especially when it's about hurty-stuff.
ReplyDeleteHope you're enjoying A-Z
The slices of life are beautiful and eerie at the same time. The first picture of cutting off the corns caught my eye (and made my stomach lurch). And just think, in those days sterilizing the instruments before and after surgery was probably a little, shall we say, suspect?
ReplyDeleteIndeed. Make the stew, cut the corns off, make the stew...all in a day's housework.
DeleteI definitely find those "slice" models fascinating, whether the plasticized versions or the clear overlays in anatomy books. But I'd rather steer clear of any of the slicing instruments, thank you. And I'm not sure I really like seeing them displayed on the red cloth either. Like with slasher movies, I've got to avert my eyes and wait for the suspenseful music to end. :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, I'd forgotten about those clear overlays... they look exactly like that. You're right. Thanks you so much for stopping in again and leaving me a message.
ReplyDeleteFor some strange reason, Shylock kept popping in my head while I read your post today. Pound/slice of flesh, same difference...I guess.
ReplyDeleteYour post reminded me of a market I visited in Tbilisi, Georgia. It's called Dry Bridge Market and one can find beautiful art, antiques and silver displayed next to surgical instruments (claimed to be from WWII).
Dexter was a regular on our TV screen when the kids used to watch TV with me after school!
S is for Silver Serendipity
That market sounds wonderful. And yes, you're right, Shylock is a sure mental connection. Thank you for your thoughtful and personal response to my piece. I love it when people share what my writing provokes. Truly appreciated.
ReplyDeleteThere was a really interesting display touring around a few years ago where Chinese scientists has sliced a body into multitudes of cross sections - fascinating but strangely gorey too.
ReplyDeleteLeanne | cresting the hill
Some of those instruments look very painful and don't bear thinking about how they hack limbs and things off! 😲😲
ReplyDeleteSomehow I've never gotten around to watching Dexter. But now that you've written about it, maybe I will catch an episode or two to see how that goes.
ReplyDeleteSlice of life... ugh! But I know I'd examine it if I passed the exhibit! The instruments look fabulously maintained. I am a toolkit kinda gal! And look at that buxom lady cutting corns!
Dexter is very unpleasant... in a good way.
ReplyDeleteGlad he pics appealed. I got lost for hours on the Wellcome Images site browsing. Maybe you can find something surprising there for one of your thousand blogs.