The Body Electric

When the organizers of the Fifth Australian Sculpture Triennale in Melbourne asked Australian performance artist Stelarc to submit a proposal for a site-specific installation, he came up with a novel location in which to situate the work: his stomach.

After fasting for eight hours, Stelarc ingested a 15-mm by 5-cm capsule made of titanium, stainless steel, silver and gold. The capsule was tethered to a cable, which was linked to a control box outside his body. The stomach had to be inflated with air before this metallic lozenge slithered its way into Stelarc's abdomen. Once there, the capsule unfurled to...