AMAZING ANATOMIES

Amazing Anatomies – The Congress for Curious People at The Old Operating Theatre on Tuesday 3 September 2013

Here are some photos from our Death Drawing session as part of the Congress for Curious People. Forgive the grainy quality of some of them- the museum is atmospherically dark so let’s just hope it adds to capturing the mood of this evening…All photos copyright of Art Macabre, Linsay Trerise & Nikki Shaill 2013 (c).

Model Ava Iscariot poses as an Anatomical Venus, bodypainted by Art Macabre’s Nikki Shaill. Photo: All rights reserved Art Macabre 2013.

Our hearts pumped fast and pulses raced as we were granted the opportunity to present Art Macabre model Ava Iscariot as our living Anatomical Venus at the oldest operating theatre in Europe. What a venue for Art Macabre to take place in! Thanks so much to Karen and team at the Old Operating Theatre, Petra from UCL and Joanna Ebenstein from our favourite website Morbid Anatomy, who I was thrilled to meet in person. Plus thanks to Anna Maerker and John Troyer for allowing us to precede your truly fascinating talks with our death drawing antics. Both speakers held the audience enraptured, with lots of questions to follow, and I learnt alot about the history behind the scenes of anatomical wax models at La Specola and different preservation methods of the body through the ages.

If you’ve not visited this little London Bridge based museum before, make a date to go and see The Old Operating Theatre Museum soon. They’ve got some great events coming up this Autumn. As you ascend the stairs, you’re greeted with a small but perfectly formed museum, with creaky floorboards, jam-packed with history, medical and anatomical artefacts and fascinating displays including the old Herb Garret. The best bit is getting to go and sit in the wood pannelled operating theatre though and this was the setting for our Death Drawing special as part of The Congress for Curious People.

We’d love to return soon (maybe when it isn’t quite so warm and sweaty in the theatre!) and hold another full Art Macabre Death Drawing session there.

Sketch by museum staff member Karen of our Anatomical Venus

Photos: Art Macabre, Linsay Trerise & Nikki Shaill. All rights reserved 2013.

Here’s what one attendee Kaite Welsh made of the event too.