This amazing exhibit brought together more than 300 works of art, anatomy and science from 15 countries, much of which had never before been seen in an art gallery. It included many paintings, drawings and etchings by Leonardo da Vinci, Andreas Vesalius, Rembrandt, Albert Dürer, Degas, William Hogarth and Stubbs. Plus incredible detailed life-size wax models used by medical schools years ago, alongside old instruments and books from the medical world. These displays were showcased with contemporary work by eight talented modern artists, including John Issacs, Christine Borland, Katherine Dowson and Bill Viola.

The exhibit was beautifully presented in six sections and two floors of the Hayward Gallery. It was unusually lit, which gave the entire presentation of “anatomy art” an eerie appearance. Unnerving and highly appropriate music from one of the displays could be heard at times clearly, and always faintly, throughout the exhibit. Like a lost track from Coil’s original Hellraiser Themes for author and artist Clive Barker, the music immediately forced you to explore your own perception of sound and its effects on the human body and mind.

The exhibit opened with a display of 6th, 7th and 8th century group portraits of early physicians performing all forms of anatomy lessons, medical examinations and dissections. The beautiful look of these classic portraits seemed to fight with the grim subject matter they presented. From there you were met with a disturbing arrangement of old medical instruments leading to one of many wonderful modern mixed media presentations, which included the animated effects of disease on the human body.

In the next room you found yourself surrounded by sculptures of flayed bodies revealing delicate muscle structures. These were shown alongside 18th century anatomical wax models in which every detail of the human body has been painstakingly recreated. These amazing pieces were used for medical studies in universities all over Europe, and were modeled on executed criminals who feared being turned into anatomical wax sculptures more then they feared death itself. At the time dissections were public affairs and took place in appropriately called “anatomy theatres”, where people would gather to watch scientific performances. It was considered the height of human degradation to be subjected to this after death. Looking into the dead eyes of many of these strange creations of science you can’t help but feel pity for them, as they have now become forever-unwilling works of art.

The next gallery you entered displayed early images of women in art and science mainly focusing on pregnancy, childbirth and the reproductive organs. Obstetrics was an area of wonder and awe for male surgeons and artists of the time, particularly because women’s bodies were harder to come by as they were rarely executed for their crimes. When presented with a female corpse for examination, the one area which greatly differed from there own became the focus of all their attention; especially in the 18th century when the death rate in childbirth grew astonishingly high. Many of these representations of the female body truly presented the human form as both a piece of art and scientific tool. The cycle of life was further explored in a modern work by Marc Quinn called “Eternal Spring, 1998” in which lovely red flowers were preserved in frozen silicone.

Following this display was Dutch physician Dr. Fredrick Ruysch’s 17th century collection of preserved fetuses and body parts, used in his medical research some 300 years earlier. These repulsive and yet fascinating specimens lead to an incredible arrangement of early 12th-16th century drawings and medical books. Throughout this exhibit large write-ups about each piece seemed designed to distract your attention away from the art on display, or force you to look away for a brief but probably needed momentary break. Within many of these write-ups there was the haunting description “Know Thyself”, a common philosophy described above and deeply believed by early physicians and artists of the time.

The exhibit ended with an examination of human temperaments, facial expressions and madness. On display were old photographs featuring prisoners and asylum patients, as well as frightening devices used to cure women from hysteria. Many of these representations featured failed medical attempts to establish a science of human nature. Attempts to link head size or skin color to intelligence seem grossly absurd now, but at one time they were considered reasonable areas of medical study.

This exhibit was an amazing example of humanities never-ending quest to better know itself through art and science. It left its visitors with many feelings, which were obvious on the faces of the gallery crowd. During the exhibit people covered their mouths in horror, looked away in disgust, were awed by what they saw and drawn in closer to examine it. Some could not explore the entire thing and left feeling ill, others wanted more and seemed saddened when they reached the end. The unusual mix of art and science had the ability to repel and fascinate.

Leaving the Hayward Gallery and walking out into the London streets, my own feelings about Spectacular Bodies seemed mixed. I was truly amazed by the incredible works I had just seen and knew I had been changed by them forever, but I also felt a little like a leering attendee at a new form of “anatomy theater”. One on hand I was awed by the incredible artistic skills and scientific study it must have taken to develop the medical knowledge we have today. On the other hand, I was a bit disturbed by the clear realization that no amount of knowledge or skill has been able to overcome the one thing all physicians and medical men have been struggling with for centuries: the inability to put an end to disease, aging and death.