Joking aside

"We can make a direct reference to one of the most striking images of the late 20th Century - that of the ear on the back of the mouse," says Oron Catts, who leads the TCA team.

Icon: The techniques were developed to treat victims of disease or accident"Our traditional concepts of life need revision. The ear really focuses attention to the notion of partial life."
While the chosen position initially was in front of and beside the right ear, this was discarded as being unsafe.
It will initially be implanted under the skin of the forearm and will be "sculpted" after the cartilage fully grows with an ear lobe being cosmetically added.
"Constructing the ear on the arm also means I'll always have something up my sleeve," says Stelarc with a grin.