When you wake up in the morning with an unplanned day of work ahead of you, skinned giraffes and aborted babies don’t usually figure in the general ingredients of the day but that’s the life of a press photographer..

Running from October 24th 2008 to August 23 2009, Gunther von Hagens’ latest exhibition “Bodyworlds: The Cycle of Life” aims to show every stage of human life from pretty much the big bang (arf arf) to the final whimper.

This exhibition certainly won’t be to everyone’s tastes as there are some pretty extreme things on show but aside from the fact that they’re plastinated human beings and animals in “fun” poses, it’s all science and is fascinating to see.  I must admit however that in the press pack I received, it was rather disconcerting to be given a brochure on how to go about offering my body to the centre and what procedures I’ll  go through before I end up becoming “man playing ping-pong” or whatever they decide they’re lacking in the next show.  Nowhere did it mention whether Gunther’s volunteered to have his body poked and prodded by freaked-out kids for the rest of eternity.

When “Dr. Death” first appeared on the scene a few years ago, everything he did was seen as being horrifying and controversial but now, a few years down the line, his latest exhibition is sponsored by the Red Cross.  He has always insisted that his idea is to make death an acceptable thing to discuss and it seems that with a family-friendly corporate venue like the o2 hosting his latest work, his mission seems to be going to plan.

I found that once the initial shock has passed of seeing this stuff up close, theres a lot of things that are truly fascinating to see up close from human brains to the arterial pathways of a rooster (above).

So in the spirit of Halloween, I suggest you head down to the o2 in London this week to spend some quality time with a bunch of skinned humans.  Personally, I’d advise saving lunchtime until AFTER the visit but make sure you get to check it out.