Simon Willace v Body Worlds : Melbourne Indymedia

Body Worlds v Simon Willace.

I do not usually write about myself, as I would make very uninteresting material for any article. However as it has turned out I have made the news and it falls upon me, once again, to present the facts as I see them.

My feelings are that the market is already swamped with that type of writer and if readers wanted a product delivered from authorized media, they would buy a fucking paper.

However, like a journalist, I too have a responsibility to deliver a truth, or at the very least, one that I personally believe. I honestly believe I have honoured that obligation with the ‘Amazing Freak show human body exhibition’ article.

However I have made a few mistakes along the way, I have caused harm to the organisation, ‘Body Worlds’ owned by Dr Gunther Von Hagan.

Last month I wrote in the article that a Dr Gunther Von Hagan’s Body world franchise operating under the name of Amazing Human Bodies Exhibition is touring Australia entertaining crowds with the plastic carcasses of executed Chinese political Prisoners.

This turned out not to be the case; but only half of the story, the executed Chinese prisoners may still be touring Australia. However the mistaken link occurred because appearing in AHBE promotional literature was the name Dr Gunther Von Hagan clearly written while no other name was mentioned. The advertising also had a short biography seemingly identifying him as responsible for the Australian show.

I personally interviewed people as they walked out of the show, and like any junior reporter, I have the names and contact details to prove the shared misunderstandings. I asked who was responsible for putting on the exhibition?. They too had read the pamphlets and replied Gunther was named as the man most likely to be responsible, no other company name appears so it seemed to suggest it ‘quacked like a duck’.

However as they quaked in threads and to my email adress, Gunther Von Hagan and body worlds has never toured here and has no intention to do so. They strongly deny any links of association with any touring freak shows other than the ones carrying the Gunther name and I cannot in all honesty back my claim that says otherwise so I retract the alleged business link.

.In the research investigating all exhibitions of plastination I discovered there were many with names like AMHB, Scope, Bodies, Fantastic and Inside story to name a few and plenty of reports to confirm the bodies in all exhibition were also all Chinese like the ones I saw in Australia.

However as I researched and gathered articles from a variety of media, looking for suggestive material linking such exhibitions with von Hagan, I discovered that Von Hagan coincidentaly has two factories in China that prepares bodies for exhibition although he does not use Chinese bodies himself

This is where I became very confused. I could not find any other factories aside from von Hagan’s capable of supplying the market

Why would Gunther have offices in Heidelberg Germany and have two factories in China?

Nevertheless, Gunther Von Hagan and Body worlds were adamant stating that they do not use Chinese cadavers in their displays.

OK they should not suffer because I wrongfully suggested they did. The suppositions I came to from reading many articles led me to imply they were involved in duping the Australian public into believing the bodies on display here are donated by the deceased like the Body Worlds information declares.

The duping however still goes on as the freak show passes through Perth on its way here, but it is not run by Gunther, and is named Amazing human body not Body worlds exhibition, so von Hagan’s operation is OK.

Or is It?

Doubtless, they will sue if I continue a campaign, and have me executed and put my plasticised face in a display, but it’s worth the crack.

How many factories are there, doyouthink, where you can obtain a complete crowd of Chinese plastic body collection for display?

Body worlds has gone all out to refute my claims, which is OK, they posted a right of reply in threads that attacked my style and intelligence. They did the same on their own site and a fake PDF of the Article. Which was quite understandable, as any attack on my character is easy but not a convincing defence against the accusations, and by doing so they made it clear they had plenty to hide.

Are they guilty of turning Executed Chinese prisoners into plastic and selling the displays to other exhibitors?.

Quite honestly and perhaps surprisingly, I do not give a shit. Had it not been for the avalanche of protest from Ms Hamburg the article would not have have as much attention as it has world wide so they have themselves to thank, and I thank them for their time otherwise it may have slipped from these pages in silence.

What bothers me now is that the show that is coming to Melbourne is allowed in Australia at all without being investigated or cleared by an ethics committee.

How can we go to war for democracy and allow a freak show that may exploit pro democracy political prisoners from a nation of an oppressive regime?.

No one else seems to be concerned, aside from readers on IMC and the members of a small fretful group of Christians currently holding vigil outside an American museum prompted by the article.

Perhaps accredited professional journalist should investigate the obvious links forcing our democratic government to act in the interests of human rights, which might be a good thing.

Why don’t we ask them?

Thank you for your time.