About the exhibition
Reconstructing Lives told the story of the
development of prosthetics from armour-like iron hands of the 16th
century through to 21st century carbon-fibre running blades, with
real examples, powerful images, and the amputees' own stories.
Although replacements such as 'peg legs' were made in Roman
times, the number of people who survived amputations increased
dramatically with medical developments from the middle of the 19th
century. Around 41,000 British amputees came from the First World
War, leading to an increase in research into prosthetics. The
current conflict in Afghanistan is leading to more amputations on
military personnel, and civilians being affected by landmines.
On display were prosthetics ranging from a 16th century iron
hand to a modern i-limb hand developed by Touch Bionics.