Marc Quinn, the artist known for making self-portraits from his own blood, will be displaying his long-awaited sculpture of Zombie Boy at the Science Museum in London.
The sculpture, entitled Self-Conscious Gene, will welcome each visitor to the new Medicine galleries, which will open to the public in autumn next year.
Rick Genest, better known as Zombie Boy, died earlier this month after falling from the balcony of his apartment. Though many reported it to be an act of suicide, these allegations were soon dismissed by his family.
Quinn first featured a sculpture of the Canadian artist and model in his White Cube show in London in 2010.
However, the bronze model, which is said to stand at 3.5 metres, will be ready next year and is a part of ongoing series, Body Alteration, in which the artist explores how people have altered the bodies to reflect themselves.
When discussing the project, the artist stated: “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.”