Another new exhibit at Museum London gives art lovers the opportunity to examine the body in different ways, from the powerful to the emotional to the overtly sexual.

Heads Up, Hands Over: A Body of Work from the Museum London Collection takes pieces from the museum's vaults, coupled with a multimedia sculpture from regional artist Patrick Thibert, that examine various views of the human body.

"(The exhibit shows) the ways in which artists have envisioned the human body," explained the curator of the exhibit, Cassandra Getty.

The exhibition compliments another featuring works by Greg Curnoe, Cutout: Anatomy of Collage. Both are open to the public.

Heads Up, Hands Over's various paintings and photos don't just celebrate the whole body, they focus in on particular parts as well. In Thibert's wax cast arm figures, the focus is on the fist of each arm that demonstrate "ideas of anger, repressed violent emotions," said Getty. This particular piece is one of the first times Thibert has worked with emotion as he usually works conceptually, she added.

Other pieces emphasize the body in the context of a broader topic. English artist Richard Hamilton, who pre-dated Andy Warhol with pop art, created a collage with prints from '60s fashion magazines to look at the idea that the body can be put together with the use of a stylist, relating to the concept of a "celebrity persona," explained Getty.

Then there are pieces aimed to shock. Canadian Dennis Burton had a woman sit down in ink then onto a printing stone, making an imprint of her behind and more, creating a print that is highly sexual in nature, said Getty. In the same vein, London artist John Boyle sat down naked in a chair and traced the parts that touched. The painting reflects those areas, including his genitals. While the painting aims to shock, Boyle often had a political message as well and protested against censorship, said Getty.

Heads Up, Hands Over will be open until April 10. For more information, visit www.museumlondon.ca.