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azimos —
eyes that never opened
Published: 2010-04-29 22:35:15 +0000 UTC; Views: 28702; Favourites: 697; Downloads: 1
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Description
Before you read my comment, I'd like you to see what you are thinking when you see this, so your first impression won't be affected by my or other people's thoughts...I had no comment written for this before getting a DD, but someone suggested I should.
Some of you who have chosen to comment are taking this image in scope of pro-life and pro-choice issue. It would definitely be a suiting image for that in my opinion too.
If you're curious, this was found in a medical building of my university where they had done dissections of people who had given consent. It is to see what a fetus looks like in different stages of life. I'm not a medical student and I found this room by accident when I was taking shelter from rain.
I had a lot of thoughts that flashed in my mind but one of the things that lingered while I was taking the shot was this poem, as I've already written in another similar image:
Think how it is to have a conversation with an embryo.
You might say, "The world outside is vast and intricate.
There are wheatfields and mountain passes,
and orchards in bloom.
At night there are millions of galaxies, and in sunlight
the beauty of friends dancing at a wedding."
You ask the embryo why he, or she, stays cooped up
in the dark with eyes closed.
Listen to the answer.
There is no "other world."
I only know what I've experienced.
You must be hallucinating.
-Rumi
Now Mowlana Rumi was a mystic Sufi; he believed in another world after death and and he wrote this as an analogy of those who denied that. But this could mean in more ways than that. It could relate to our lack of experience to any other "world" hidden from us. I believe there could be many types of veils... It could be the world inside another human being, another heart. It could be about belief of God or lack of. I'm an astronomy student, so my thoughts also go to black holes, possibility of parallel universe or higher dimensions, or such.
So really, I think we are all an embryo in a lot of ways.
As for the DD, I'm realizing the one image that I had the least part is chosen from my gallery. My thoughts go to the mother of this little one and the decisions she had to make, the father, all the other family or friends who were involved, the doctor and others who handled and took part in this little body to be there in that room...
Thank you ikai-zixie to have found this image, showing compassion and so much wonderment and suggesting it, and Timothy-Sim for picking it amongst many.
And if you've read so far thank you, I appreciate it...I hope you'll share your thoughts or feelings too...
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Comments: 915
That leg and its wrinkled skin...its as if it was something out of a video game or movie rather than some that could have lived...Did he bleed from his nose? Why do his eyes look so peaceful? He looks so cramped in that jar...
its a fascinating photo and bit sad and lonely, but interesting all the same. I hope his family was helped in their mourning for his passing by preserving him. (Otherwise, why else go to such lengths?)
...very thought provoking capture...
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Sleep well, child. And may you dream forever....
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this is one hell of a controversial picture, even if you didn't mean it to be :o chilling.
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Makes me a little sad... I think he should have been buried, not put in a jar. I don't mind the younger embryos in a jar so much, this one just seems a little old to have not been given a burial though.
It's amazing they were able to preserve even the eyebrows.
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As odd or 'sad' as it seems, think instead of the lives that they might have saved. Because medical professionals and students had a reference, perhaps whatever caused this child to be stillborn was discovered and that knowledge saved the lives of others.
It must have been a very difficult and brave thing for the parents to do.
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I suppose the parents decided to donate their child to science.
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Yeah I know, just seems a little odd to me that a parent could do that.
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So sad yet peaceful in death...
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wow. i almost burst out in tears. this---is so touching. so simple yet so touching. and you're description just adds to it.....just like ~Avaapril said a little while ago 'Art makes people FEEL something' and thats wat i just did. i felt sadness angry, wonder, amazement. and then understanding, then---awe.
wow.
congrats on the DD...wow.
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Although I would not have needed your comment to appreciate this image, and would have looked at it with many different ways of looking ( though all with an open heart and mind ) I am glad for your comment. I believe you have made a beautiful work of art here by sharing this image which you saw, and by sharing the thoughts you felt when you saw it. Thank you.
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Creepy, yet moving. It shows that even in birth, we are not immortal.
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Well the little guy certainly does looks like he's very peaceful. Thank you for sharing this picture. I could understand why things about pro-life/ pro-choice would stir up about this, but really this is not about it at all. It's all about this little guy and the eyes that will never open.
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Art makes people FEEL something. Regardless on if it is a possitive or negative feeling. This envokes so much feeling and that is why it is a work of art. Some may not understand why you would post it but its a matter of getting your brain working, opening up your mind to things you may not have ever thought of. Some people may be lucky enough to never have to lose a child or have to make a difficult decision such as this may have been and therefor would rather not look at it because its not pleasant. The fact is this is reality and I may not like what it is but I appreciate knowing this is reality because it helps me appreciate life more. Thank you for opening our minds and feelings to something some people will never experience.
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where are you now, little one? can you see us watching you?
life is a dream, and we're all asleep. i hope you've found a way to wake up.
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If this is real then that kid was one of the lucky ones. Rest in peace little buddy, I envy you.
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The picture by itself doesn't really speak to me as loud as what you have written...
... tankiou for sharing...
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Oh lord... a lot of people are saying that this child was probably a miscarriage... I can't fathom the pain of that... giving birth to such a well developed child that couldn't live. My heart is breaking.
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So sad - such a sweet little face.
When my best friend was in medical school I came upon a room full of glass jars just like this - dozen upon dozen of little babies and fetuses much much younger. It was really sad. But nature can be cruel. And just to clarify - all the babies that I saw were natural miscarriages. Do you know the reason for this little one's death?
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Is that real? if so. . . I wonder what the artist gets from looking at this to a point that would make them call it art? what do they see? I see a dead baby in sepia tone.
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I'm tearing up, honestly.
This is heart shattering, but there is a place called paradise after such a thing like death.
A world we create for ourselves, he's in safe hands.
Remember that is only the shell of his physical being.
His soul is more free then any of ours.
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Was this baby dissected after a miscarriage? Or were they aborted? Just curious
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It's way too large of a baby to have it been a LEGAL abortion.
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Oh true, I didn't think of that
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Beautifully taken, very striking and gives you a very strange feeling when you look at the baby's face. Life and death are both beautiful things. Abortion is debatable but all in all it's always (and should always be) left up to the mother for a number of reasons and I respect everyone's views on this topic. 
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What haunts me about this is that this could have been another life... *shudder* The poor baby...
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Poor child never grew...
But I suppose it shows what people can see and experience from others choices.
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I am actually pro-choice, but I love this piece and the poem that goes with it. Very sad and moving.
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I;m for prolife. And this pic is amazin too see what it look like in a more 3d look then 2d on an ultra-sound.
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Poor thing. Probably a miscarraige, it looks to be pretty intact. I can imagine the mother must've went through a lot, especially the decision to donate him to science. He never had a chance.
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Poor thing, but at least it's memory will be preserved and pperhaps will be able to help others in some form. <3
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Honestly I have to say, your write up for this...is absolutely beautiful.
I typically have issues seeing embryos or fetus not for them specifically but for seeing a birth in question. But this image did strike my curiosity, and this write up you gave is so meaningful and such a wonderful journey. You really have a great skill to make a single image have many new meanings. I think the picture itself is striking, non offensive in anyway, and has a very tangible quality. I can't quite explain the feeling i get from it, for some reason it is very "close" surreal infact, perhaps its the fact that I am a women and this makes some maternal thing flare that I would otherwise ignore I am not sure. The color and way you photographed this, also is wonderful, i feel if it was any other way or color it would seem more eerie. This is an intriguing on its own, however you words, shall i say "bring life" to this piece, or shed a new light. haha, the different veils and preception of the world around is, had I not just seen the movie Inception, i probebly would not have been so quick to grasp this concept. It is all so fresh in my mind. I like this idea that we might wake up or die and go to yet another stage, i am going to keep that idea with me now, thinking of that from the embrio's perspective.
This was very insightful, and it is something for the first time in a LONG while, i have read something on DA that moved me.
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I'm terrified it's eyes will open and it stare straight at me, it's a beautiful photo that will most definitely give me nightmares tonight!
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I don't see it as a pro life/choice thing... I see it as 'oh cool picture, how did you get that shot?' then I read the description. I've been to the bodies museum, they have something like this on display (including the other stages of birth).
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This reminded me of the stories and documentries of dead babies and how they helped us.
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i don't understand how anyone could destroy something as beautiful as this.
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It probably died of natural causes.
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My first thought : " Fetuses....they creep me out so much! Why am I clicking on this? Is it real?"
Very stirring image. I just can't help but stare at the tiny eyebrows and think how this half formed life has all the beginnings of human expression. What could have been? What will be?
No one knows. Excellent image made even all the more creepy by how you stumbled upon it!
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At first I found this disturbing, probably in the same way that I'd find a picture of human entrails disturbing, as they're both things that ordinarily wouldn't be visible to the eye unless something has gone terribly wrong - least not in that stage of development. But on the other hand, I can see how it would be fascinating from a scientific point of view. I wouldn't have wanted to be one of the artists way back when that had to pick through cadavers to understand musculature and what not, but you do what you have to for the sake of knowledge and understanding.
From my own perspective I'd like to point out that the only thing horrendous about the butchering of animals for food is when they're all penned together and lined up for slaughter without chance of escape or living a free life where they know what's at stake. Having butchered many an animal in the wild, however, I do not find it horrendous at all and would rather do that than study something like this. It's all a matter of perspective.
I'm not surprised many people see the pro-life and pro-choice issue immediately when looking at this picture. I would hazard a guess that the reason it doesn't jump to my mind is because I'm pro-choice and the reality of what a fetus looks like neither shocks nor makes me question the morality of my opinion on the matter. In fact, it has nothing to do with it whatsoever, from my personal standpoint.
A very interesting photo though. Certainly not something you see everyday.
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One life ends, and another life... never comes back.
When I look at this image I think about why our race even exists on this planet. I mean, we're destroying ourselves to the point where we have literally damaged the environment around us. We destroy lives that we dont even notice. Poverty still exists, and we do nothing about it.
Maybe Earth is better off without the existence of human beings. To me, mankind is an intelligent creation, yet we are not wise enough to ensure a peaceful order on this planet.
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Sometimes I think if another species was 'in control' they would do the same things we're doing. That's our flaw.
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My first thought was "How the heck did they get that? was it a miscarriage? Abortion? did the mom die?" just a bunch of questions. o3o
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I became curious when I saw this picture. The first thought that came to me was "Is it real?" then knew it was because in our school we also had a preserved fetus (although it was in the earlier stages before it even formed much). I just had to read your side because I had a feeling this might stir up some bad comments from others. It was good I did. Thank you and congratulations
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Honestly, the first thing I thought of was when I went to the circus and around age five maybe, and I saw this two headed baby in a jar there. I don't know if it was real, but I do know that it still haunts me to this day.
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Great shot. I'm not gonna put in the abortion debate here, but this is a powerful image.
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