SEE FISH INSIDE OUT IN STRIKING NEW EXHIBITION FROM THE SMITHSONIAN

A striking new exhibition of elegant images exposing the inner workings of fish from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History has opened at the Australian National Maritime Museum. X-ray Vision: Fish Inside Out is a collection of 40 x-ray images of specimens from more than 4 million preserved in the USA National Fish Collection.

The images, originally made for research purposes, demonstrate a natural union of science and art as they visually retell the story of the evolution of fish.

The x-rays document variations in the skeleton – the number of vertebrae and position of the fins - and other details including undigested food or prey in the gut, revealing the specimen's last meal.

An exhibition from the National Maritime Museum collection of contemporary and traditional x-ray style maritime art and sculpture by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists runs parallel with the Smithsonian exhibition. The art in A Different Vision reveals 40,000 years of unbroken knowledge and cultural connection to fish and the sea.

X-ray Vision: Fish Inside Out and A Different Vision is on display until 28 February 2016 and is included in the museum’s general admission.