In general, prosthetics are designed to mimic the look and texture of human skin, meaning they’re inherently created to be blend in, not stand out. But more and more, the world of custom prosthetics is merging with the world of art, resulting in some truly vibrant prosthetic socket designs created to not only catch eyes and turn heads, but showcase the unique interests, personalities, and quirks of their wearers.
While prosthetic artwork may seem like a new phenomenon to some, artistic prosthetics have actually been a thing for quite some time. In 2012, below-the-knee amputee Priscilla Sutton put together a prosthetic art exhibition called Spare Parts London to coincide with that year’s Paralympics.
In the exhibition, Sutton, with help from several other amputee artists from around the world, turned their worn-out (or, in Sutton’s words, “pre-loved”) limbs into ornately displayed attractions for visitors to see. The point of the exhibition was to illustrate all the creative ways that prosthetics can be used after use, while also celebrating and sharing Sutton’s innate love of custom prosthetics.
While Sutton’s exhibition largely made use of older prosthetics that could no longer be worn, many other amputees have taken this general concept and applied it to their in-use prosthetics. Indeed, we’ve learned that many of our own clients at the various MCOP facilities have quite an eye for art as well – as you’ll soon see for yourself!
Whether it’s a favorite sports team, a musician that inspires, or just a flat-out awesome original idea, we’ve seen and worked on a ton of interesting pieces of prosthetic socket art for our customers. We’ve also always been fond of sharing these artistic prosthetics on our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts, where they always garner lots of great feedback and responses from our followers.
That consistently positive social media feedback got us to thinking – why not compile some of the coolest pieces of prosthetic art that have come through the offices and put them together in one convenient location for everyone to view? After all, there’s plenty to share – just take a look!