Olympians perpetuate a certain kind of beauty. Their reflexes, coordination, speed and ability to transcend known boundaries of human capability make them, in essence, superhuman...
Olympians perpetuate a certain kind of beauty. Their reflexes, coordination, speed and ability to transcend known boundaries of human capability make them, in essence, superhuman. As they descend upon London, prepped and poised to break physical laws, Wellcome Collection presents Superhuman, an exhibition dedicated to the extraordinary ways people have sought to improve, adapt and enhance their body’s performance, and our seemingly limitless desire to be more than ourselves.
Over 100 artworks, artefacts, videos, photographs, comics and medical devices are on display, from false teeth and sex aids to bionic appendages and Vivienne Westwood’s height-enhancing Super Elevated Ghillie shoes. Since ancient mythologies we have sought new ways in which to become bigger, better and stronger, creating a wealth of objects for curators to draw upon.
Superhuman explores the increasingly symbiotic relationship between humans and technology. We witness how prosthetics have evolved from heavy, cumbersome appendages, as seen in James Gillingham’s arresting photographs of Victorian women hiding their faces while revealing their artificial limbs, to the beautiful and metamorphic prostheses which grant Paralympian Aimee Mullins her kinaesthetic super powers.
"Superhuman explores the increasingly symbiotic relationship between humans and technology"
There are inventions that critique and challenge the fixedness of the human condition, such as contraceptive implants designed to delay fertility and IVF techniques intended to extend it. Just as Stelarc considers new bodily possibilities via ‘aesthetic adornments’ and extra ears, video works by Charlotte Jarvis, Regina José Galindo and Floris Kaayk explore the cultural effects of cosmetic surgery on our psyches and the extremities of physical intervention.
The exhibition also investigates the notion of a mechanised body, from Fritz Kahn’s 1930s sketches of man as a palace of industry to Ambroise Paré's exquisite 16th century engraving of a mechanical hand. These have paved the way for other imaginings, such as the microchip embedded in scientist-cum-cyborg Kevin Warwick in 1998, challenging our accepted view of what it means to be human.
Whether or not superhumanism is a desirable philosophy for society to embrace is contestable. As the human body sees its finest hour during the Olympics, Superhuman turns the spotlight on the history and future of human enhancement and its ethical implications. Another stage of evolutionary progress or disruption to the very concept of humanness? This exhibition facilitates the debate.
Superhuman runs at the Wellcome Collection July 19 – October 18.
Text by Kathleen Lee-Joe
