THE BODY IS A BIG PLACE

HELEN PYNOR, PETA CLANCY

IS YOUR BODY A MACHINE?

The Body is a Big Place is a collaborative installation developed with scientists and clinicians, exploring the ambiguous thresholds between life and death. The work’s title refers to the capacity for parts of the human body to traverse vast geographic, temporal and interpersonal distances during organ transplantation and blood transfusion processes. The device is framed by films showing the artwork animated by two pigs hearts, and another with recipients of transplantation and transfusion.

The Body is a Big Place was developed in collaboration with Michael Shattock, professor of Cellular Cardiology at King’s College London and curatorial advisor for the BLOOD: Life Uncut season. Mike is part of the Cardiac Physiology Research Group, interested in the application of fundamental physiological and molecular techniques to investigate the response of the myocardium to the stresses of ischaemia, reperfusion and hypertrophy.