Hans Op de Beeck (° 1969 – Turnhout, Belgium). Lives and works in Brussels, Belgium >   .hansopdebeeck.com

Belgian artist Hans Op de Beeck has created five sculptures representing people with prosthetic limbs.  The sculptures have names – Ingrid, Anke, Yves-Pascale, Iris and Eric – as well as a medical history.

Some of the exhibits have bionic arms or legs, others are wearing complex equipment on their bodies and heads. A “motion capture” apparatus on the face, a robotic suit for a disabled person, or a brain-scanner attached to the skull. The Belgian sculptor raises the question of the ethical side of these state-of-the-art devices.

What is meant to save someone’s life could possibly destroy the true essence of a person, blurring the fine line between the human body and its digital body-double.  Could humans turn into machines in the long run?

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