Sculpture made of human skin on show

A London gallery is putting on display a sculpture made from human skin.

The installation is by US artist Andrew Krasnow who uses skin from bodies donated to science.

His work representing a human heart is on display at GV Art, a private gallery in Marylebone.

Critics including American politicians have already denounced his previous exhibits which have included skin lampshades.

The exhibition called Trauma is about the fragility of the human body. Krasnow's heart sculpture entitled Hollow Muscle is made from skin which has been tanned to resemble leather. It was inspired by his own and his father's struggles with heart problems. Krasnow's father died aged 49, and the artist had three heart attacks by the age of 45. The skin used by Krasnow is tanned with the same process used for an animal skin. It is understood he uses only white skin because he believes that much of the suffering in America has been caused by white people.

The licence held by GV Art from the Human Tissue Authority allows it to display human tissue in public.