Marc Quinn’s sculpture of Zombie Boy will stand in the Science Museum

Marc Quinn’s sculpture of Zombie Boy, the tattooed Canadian artist and model who died last week, will welcome visitors to the new Medicine Galleries at the Science Museum in London when they open to the public autumn next year. Rick Genest, aka Zombie Boy, died last week (some reports suggest that he killed himself though his family disputes this). Genest decided to transform his body into a “living skeleton” after he was diagnosed with a brain tumour aged 15. Quinn’s 3.5-metre high bronze sculpture, entitled Self-Conscious Gene, is part of the artist’s ongoing exploration into individuals who have modified their torsos, addressing identity issues. Quinn said previously in a statement: “After a period of illness Rick Genest began to have the inside of his body drawn onto his skin by a tattoo artist. His ritual mirrors our quest through medicine to understand and fix ourselves. What I love about Rick is that his body is at the crossroads of popular street culture, deep philosophical meaning, and medicine.”