Are you ear-ing this? Australian artist surgically implanted an extra ear on to his arm

If you ever need Stelarc (Australia) to lend you a hand – or an ear – he could do so with the same appendage. And yes, his third ear can actually ‘hear’ you!

That’s right – back in 2007, news from this performance artist moved from the entertainment pages to scientific papers, after he successfully became the first person with an ear implanted in their arm. 

The passion project developed over a decade, as the Cyprus-born creative sought to expand his work about the human body in the robotic age. 

Since he refashioned himself as Stelarc in 1972, he has dedicated himself to studying the intersection of art, bodily mechanics, and design – a sphere known as “bioart”. His other works include a robotic third arm, an internet-controlled exoskeleton, and even a swallowable “stomach sculpture” that he digested to capture images of his inner organs.

Speaking to Perth Now in 2016, he revealed that the inspiration behind his art is to make ourselves question our lived experiences – such as automatic bodily functions – in a world where nearly everything is programmable. 

“I realized that we observe only a limited part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which is the optical scale,” he said. “Bats and dolphins navigate using ultrasound, dogs only see in black and white and snakes sense in infrared. I thought if I adjust the body architecture, I probably would also adjust my awareness of the world.”

Read more stories about incredible scientific achievements in our dedicated Human Body section!

Nevertheless, “Ear On Arm” arguably became his most famous piece yet  – as it required never-before-seen surgeries that permanently altered the architecture of his body. 

Stelarc recruited three plastic surgeons to perform the procedures, which took 12 years to fully complete. 

First, the team imaged an extra ear on to the side of his head, which would serve as a model for the new prosthetic implant. They then created a “¼ Scale Ear” out of Stelarc’s living cells, which would serve as a replica for the finished product. Finally, they began the “Ear On Arm” section of his design, during which they surgically constructed a full-sized ear on Stelarc’s forearm that aimed to transmit sounds. 

The ear itself was created by injecting saline solution into a kidney-shaped silicon implant, forming excess skin that the surgeons could sculpt into the correct figure. 

After Stelarc healed from the first surgery, the next step was creating an ear that could actually hear – which they accomplished by inserting a miniature microphone inside of the implant. 

Even with his arm fully wrapped, and his surgeon speaking through a face mask, the artist was thrilled to find out that the procedure was successful, and he could clearly hear his voice through the wireless transmitter placed in the ear. 

Unfortunately, due to an infection, the wire had to be removed – and Stelarc plans to return to the operating table in the future to re-implant a miniature microphone that can enable a wireless connection to the internet, making the ear a remote listening device for people in other places.

“For example, someone in Venice could listen to what my ear is hearing in Melbourne,” he said in his “Ear On Arm” portfolio. “This project has been about replicating a bodily structure, relocating it and now re-wiring it for alternate functions. 

“It manifests both a desire to deconstruct our evolutionary architecture and to integrate microminiaturized electronics inside the body. We have evolved soft internal organs to better operate and interact with the world. Now we can engineer additional and external organs to better function in the technological and media terrain we now inhabit.”

He also mentioned that an alternate function for the project is for his ear to act as a Bluetooth system, where the receiver and speaker are positioned inside of his mouth. 

“If you telephone me on your mobile phone I could speak to you through my ear, but I would hear your voice 'inside' my head,” he explained. “If I keep my mouth closed only I will be able to hear your voice. 

“If someone is close to me and I open my mouth, that person will hear the voice of the other coming from this body, as an acoustical presence of another body from somewhere else.”

And as Stelarc continues to push the boundaries of the human body through his art, we remain curious to see what the human body – and our evolving technology – can create next.

So congratulations to this intriguing artist and his team of clever surgeons – you are all Officially Amazing!

Header image: Andy Miah / Flickr / Wikimedia Commons licensed under CC BY‑SA 2.0