Overview:

Self-conscious Gene is a monumental bronze sculpture commissioned by the Science Museum in London, which holds a world-class public collection of scientific, technological and medical advancement from across the globe. At 3.5m (11’6”) tall, the sculpture towers over the audiences it welcomes to the museum’s Medicine Galleries, which house over three thousand extraordinary medical artefacts from human history. Self-conscious Gene depicts Rick Genest, popularly known as ‘Zombie Boy’, who began covering his body with tattoos of his complete skeleton following a period of illness. The sculpture evolved from Quinn’s Body Alteration series, which explores how, using modern medicine and technology, people have modified their outer bodies to reflect the identity they wish to project—bringing the inside out.