Melbourne Museum hit all the right notes with its special event, Illumination. It was an afterhours glimpse into the workings of the biomedical world of the human body. Part wine and music, part exhibition and talk, it took attendees on a journey that you could never imagine.
An exclusive celebration of Melbourne Museum’s new exhibitions, Biomedical Breakthroughs, it was an experience that involved giant cells, life-size bodies, and discoveries of the forefront of science.
The Biomedical Breakthroughs exhibition features stunning life-sized works of scientist and artist Drew Berry, whose inspirational installations provide the backbone to the exhibition. Treatments for coeliac disease and cancer, antivenoms, antibiotics, immunology, and pathogens are amongst the discoveries showcased.
The night included an interview with Drew Berry about his scientific and artistic works, with museum curators and medical experts from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute also on hand to answer questions.
The Letter String Quartet performing a classical musical repertoire inspired by Biomedical Breakthroughs.
I would recommend any of Melbourne Museum’s after hours events; they have yet to disappoint me. I absolutely loved the interactive exhibition itself. The amazing models of human systems are something everyone should see in order to appreciate the complexity of the human condition. In one of the interactive displays, I was able to see the veins in my hands and arms; it was thrilling to watch a living demonstration of life.
There are several audiovisual displays that show you different viruses and bacteria. It’s here where art and science converge. There is something inherently beautiful about the patterns and movements of things that are actually bad for the human body that you forget that you are looking at bacteria. Except of course when you see the life cycle of malaria – it’s not to be missed.
-Angela
Angela Hogan, lover of all things Illumination and life.
Visit the Melbourne Museum to see the Biomedical Breakthroughs exhibition, open until 20 January 2017.
The venue is accessible.
