Australian performance artist Stelarc has two functioning
ears, but he’s growing a third ear on his arm. Why?
It’s all in the name of art. The process involved a
complicated surgery; first the ear was constructed from a
bio-compatible material then transplanted under the skin on
Stelarc’s arm.
Within six months the tissue and blood
vessels in his arm
morphed with the material. The artist explained his future
plans for this new ear to OddityCentral: “ he plans to make it
more three-dimensional by using his own stem cells to develop
a proper external ear lobe. Then, he wants to implant a Wi-Fi
enabled microphone in it. The mic will be permanently
activated, so people from around the world can ‘tune in’ to him
and listen to whatever he’s hearing .”
CNN reports that this is not the award-winning artist’s first
attempt at fusing human physiology with technology, “ He
has long used his own body to explore people’s changing
relationship with technology, from putting cameras in his lungs,
colon and stomach, performing with a third hand and having
himself hung naked from a ceiling with hooks. ”
Stelarc explains that the he has particular interest in the idea
of cyborgs, he told CNN, “ What it means to be human will not
be determined any longer merely by your biological structure but
perhaps also determined largely by all of the technology that’s
plugged or inserted into you. ”
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