‘Doctor Death’ has died and his body is set to be chopped up and displayed at one of his controversial museums where real human corpses are frozen in captivating poses
A controversial scientist who developed a method to preserve dead human bodies in a rigid state and displayed them in his Body Worlds exhibition is about to be granted his final wish.
Dr Gunther von Hagens invented the plastination process in 1977 which preserves body parts or entire anatomies by replacing water and fat with plastics like silicone or epoxy resin.
After a long battle with Parkinson’s, Von Hagens died at the age of 81 on July 24. The German’s institute confirmed his death on Monday via a statement. “It is with deep sadness that the family and the Institute for Plastination announce the passing of Dr Gunther von Hagens, inventor of plastination and creator of the Body Worlds exhibitions,” it read.
The ‘mad’ scientist, who was dubbed “Doctor Death” frequently told the media how he wanted his body to be preserved after he died. “I could envisage my plastinated body standing in a welcoming pose at the entrance of an exhibition, or rendered into slices and distributed across various sites,” he told the Guardian in 2018.
His family confirmed in a statement that his body will be preserved. They said: “It was Gunther von Hagens’ own wish to make his body available for plastination after his death. His family will respect and carry out this wish.”
Back in 2018, von Hagens wife Dr Angelina Whalley, also an anatomist, said he requested she personally treats his body when he passes. She said: “He said to me, ‘Angelina, you are entitled to freeze me down to -25C for one year, but after that time you really need to put your hands on me because otherwise I will get freeze burn.’ So I have one year for mourning and then I will have to do it.”
It was not a prospect she took lightly .She added: “Of course, in the very beginning I thought, Gunther, you are kidding me! This is something I would never be able to do.”
But she came to realise she would be “finalising his life’s work”.
“I understand now that it’s more an appreciation and an expression of love for me to do it,” she told the Observer.
He said he would prefer his body to be fixed in a welcoming pose near the entrance of exhibitions, which have more than 47 million visitors globally.