The ear is an art project, albeit a really wacky one

Aug 24, 2015 20:10 GMT  ·  By

At a first glance, Stelios Arcadiou, a performance artist from Australia, looks just like any other guy. Nothing special about him. Except that, if you happen to catch him wearing short sleeves, you will most definitely notice his anatomy isn't quite right. 

Long story short, Stelios Aracadiou - or Stelarc, as he likes to call himself - has not two but three ears, of which one rests on his left arm.

The artist grew this ear himself

Stelarc' third ear, the one on his left arm, wasn't always there. It was a few years ago, in 2007, that the Australian artist had doctors help him fit it onto his limb.

To help Stelarc grow his third ear, medical experts operated on him and placed a special scaffold under his skin. In time, tissues and even blood vessels grew around the frame, forming a proper ear.

“The ear is pretty much now a part of my arm, it’s fixed to my arm and it has its own blood supply,” the performance artist said in an interview, as cited by Oddity Central.

Interestingly, Stelarc says he is not done experimenting with his science-made ear, not by a long shot. True, the organ looks very much like the real deal, but the artist feels there is room for improvement.

In the future, he plans to grow a lobe for it from his own stem cells, maybe even fit a Wi-Fi microphone in it. This microphone would record everything Stelarc hears and then beam the signal.

In a way, the Australian performance artist would become a walking radio station, with people being able to tune in and listen to what he's up to day in, day out.

“Wherever you are and wherever I am in the world, you’ll be able to listen in to what my ear is hearing. I never imagined this having an on-off switch,” Stelarc detailed his plans for the future.

As for why anyone would want to walk around carrying a third ear on their arm, Stelarc says it all comes down to art. Art that is meant to surprise people, maybe even make them a bit anxious.

Not his first project of the kind

Most of us dread a common flu shot. Stelarc, however, has no trouble experimenting with his body. Mind you, this project to grow a proper ear on his arm isn't his first attempt at flesh art.

He's suspended his body using hooks on several occasions, he's allowed others to gain control over his movements via an electronic stimulator connected to the Internet, and he's let doctors install cameras in his lungs, colon and stomach.

Stelarc's projects are intended to show that the human body has become obsolete and that, soon enough, cyborgs will become the new humans.

Man has a third ear on his left arm (5 Images)

Meet Stelarc and his third ear
The scaffold the ear grew onStelarc thinks the human body has become obsolete
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