Humans have evolved to adapt to almost everything Nature throws at us, which is why we can live in every climate (unless you’re Irish, of course, in which case the thought of anything over 75° induces panic). As adaptable as we are to Nature, though, we haven’t yet evolved in reaction to technology. We can design and build cars to be as safe as possible, but we are still immensely vulnerable to collisions. A new art piece by Australian sculptor Patricia Piccinini imagines what humans would look like if we evolved to withstand car crashes.
Meet Graham. He has an enormous, bulbous head, and a very thick skull to protect his brain. His face is quite flat but is filled with fatty tissue which can absorb a lot of the energy from an impact. He has a barrel-like chest and his torso is more like a giant airbag. Piccinini designed Graham in association with a leading trauma surgeon, a car crash expert, and Australia’s Transport Accident Commission (TAC). “Graham is an educational tool that will serve the community for years to come as a reminder of why we need to develop a safer road system that will protect us when things go wrong,” said TAC’s Joe Calafiore.
