Before my recent trip to Bodies Revealed in Hartford, I wasn’t sure what to expect. We attended the exhibition one week before learning of the Chinese Black Market controversy, brought to light via ABC’s 20/20). As a result, I have two very different ways to discuss my observations of Bodies Revealed: 1) as if the exhibition was presented as no-questions-asked 100% legit and 2) as it really exists - controversial and creepy.

If Legit: The Unrevealing Review
The first thing I noticed on entering the Bodies Revealed exhibit was the atmosphere, not the bodies. It was a fifth grade science class field trip. Lab coats, organs under glass, people shuffling through the small exhibit hall like they were racing to get to the gift shop. Not knowing much about the backstory, I was intrigued by the bodies in a dissecting, biology class kind of way. The preservation process that is applied to seal the muscles and skins (and, in separate exhibit rooms, organs) ensures a very non-gory, science-first, art-second presentation. The result is a very scientific interaction with the exhibit. There is no emotion here. The “revealed” is body as form, body as function, body as machinery.

My husband and I were both hoping for a stronger connection with these real, once-live bodies. I wanted stories to accompany the science. How did they live? How did they die? How did their lifestyle affect their final body form? Keep in mind, these questions arose before I learned of the project’s murderous allegations.

Beyond the sheer beauty of the pieces, the most impactive aspects of the exhibit were the cancered smoker’s lungs and alcohol-induced liver. I thought I could handle the fetus room. Nope. Not even close.

Bodies Revealed was intriguing, no doubt. Making the human connection would have revealed so much more.

The Reveal: Let’s Take It All Off
So, now what? How do I review this exhibit knowing I could’ve been viewing murdered bodies? Some of these bodies, according to ABC and others, could have been executed prisoners. I visited Bodies Revealed before the true story was revealed. The irony is disturbing. This exhibit thrives on revealing truth. A body’s naked truth of form and function. But, are these bodies hiding a murderous secret?