It has been 20 years in the making and involves the growth of a human organ, but for Perth-based artist Stelarc, it is just another project.

The Curtin University professor is growing a human ear on his arm.

"People's reactions range from bemusement to bewilderment to curiosity, but you don't really expect people to understand the art component of all of this," Stelarc said.

"I guess I've always got something up my sleeve, but often my sleeve is rolled down."

Stelarc first conceived the idea in 1996, but it took another decade to find the medical team willing to make it a reality.

They were recruited from around the world to insert a scaffold underneath his skin.

Within six months, tissue and blood vessels had developed around the structure.

"The ear is pretty much now a part of my arm, it's fixed to my arm and it has its own blood supply," he said.

The next step is to make the ear more three-dimensional — lifting it up off the arm and growing an ear lobe from Stelarc's stem cells.

From there, a miniature microphone that can wirelessly connect to the internet will be inserted.

"This ear is not for me, I've got two good ears to hear with. This ear is a remote listening device for people in other places," he said.

"They'll be able to follow a conversation or hear the sounds of a concert, wherever I am, wherever you are.

"People will be able to track, through a GPS as well, where the ear is."

Can you hear what I hear? Stelarc's implanted ear up close. ( Supplied )

Stelarc, who is the head of the Alternate Anatomies Laboratory at Curtin University, said the project was a sign of things to come.

"Increasingly now, people are becoming internet portals of experience ... imagine if I could hear with the ears of someone in New York, imagine if I at the same time could see with the eyes of someone in London."

And if you were wondering about his privacy, Stelarc said he hoped the microphone would stay on 24/7.

"There won't be an on-off switch," Stelarc laughed.

"If I'm not in a wi-fi hotspot or I switch off my home modem, then perhaps I'll be offline, but the idea actually is to try to keep the ear online all the time."

The microphone has already been tested successfully, but it had to be taken out because of an infection.

It is hoped that will not be a problem second time around.

Body modification in Perth

While Stelarc's project is unique, the concept of body modification is becoming more widespread in Perth.

Joeltron runs a piercing studio in the city and has been professionally piercing for 11 years. He has watched the industry grow.

Joeltron says heavier modifications like implants under the skin should not be taken lightly. ( Supplied )

"With the introduction of the internet a lot of things have changed drastically," Joeltron said.

"Instead of us being a very small community that really just kind of briefly spoke to each other when we saw each other, there's Facebook groups talking about where to go to get heavy modification done, there's a lot more websites that show quality work.

"There's definitely been an increase in awareness of these sort of modifications and also where to safely get them done."

He said heavier modifications like tongue-splitting and implanting things underneath the skin were not technically legal in Perth, but people still sought out the services.

"It's one of those things that's kind of on the hush-hush. There are travelling practitioners that do this kind of stuff, there are people who do it, it's just not generally something that is publicised," he said.

"Primarily because it is a heavier mod, it's something that shouldn't be taken lightly.

"The heavy stuff is still very underground."