Flesh and Bones: The Art of Anatomy traces how artistic traditions, scientific breakthroughs and cultural beliefs – from East to West-have shaped our understanding of the human body over centuries
ArtScience Museum is marking its 15th anniversary by expanding its reach and role in the international cultural landscape through a new landmark exhibition. Opening on 21 March, Flesh and Bones: The Art of Anatomy is ArtScience Museum’s first collaboration with the Getty in Los Angeles, one of the world’s leading art centres.
Drawing on the historic collections of the Getty and new research developed by ArtScience Museum, Flesh and Bones is a major exhibition of international scale and ambition. It offers a powerful encounter with the human body, tracing how it has been studied, imagined, and understood across cultures and time, and how the intertwined practices of art and science have shaped our understanding of anatomy.
Visitors can look forward to seeing over 160 artefacts and artworks ranging from striking life-sized illustrations and finely detailed woodcut prints to rare and delicate books from the Getty’s collection, alongside anatomical atlases, medical manuscripts, and dramatic contemporary artworks from around the world.
“Anatomy has long been a language shared by art and science, defining how we understand both the human body and ourselves. Opening with a dramatic new site-specific installation by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota and culminating in major artworks by Bill Viola and Barbara Hammer, Flesh and Bones situates artistic interpretations of the body alongside anatomical research from Singapore.
With rare works on loan from the Getty Research Institute, the exhibition reveals anatomy as a field that has evolved across history and through cultures. Through its combination of immersive installations, historical artefacts, and scientific specimens, Flesh and Bones will transform how visitors see and understand their own bodies,” said Honor Harger, Vice President of ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands.
The first edition of Flesh and Bones was presented at the Getty Center in 2022, produced by the Getty Research Institute-the Getty’s centre for the study of visual culture. It was curated by Monique Kornell, a specialist in the history of anatomical book illustration and study of anatomy by artists. Featuring rare artworks, anatomical illustrations and historical objects by anatomists, artists, and printmakers, it revealed how art and science have come together to explore the human body from the 16th century to today.
ArtScience Museum has re-envisioned and expanded the exhibition to provide a new experience for Singapore and the region. The Singapore iteration of Flesh and Bones includes contemporary artworks, scientific specimens and Asian perspectives, drawing from medical traditions, philosophies and artistic practices grounded in different cultures, from Traditional Chinese Medicine to Ayurveda.
It includes 33 contemporary artworks by both renowned and emerging artists from around the world, curated by ArtScience Museum. Featured artists include Chiharu Shiota (Japan), Bill Viola (USA), Barbara Hammer (USA), Marshmallow Laser Feast (UK), ORLAN (France), Stelarc (Australia), Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook, Pinaree Sanpitak, Natee Utarit from Thailand, and Yanyun Chen, Kray Chen, Mari Katayama, Amanda Heng and Woong Soak Teng from Singapore.
The exhibition also includes a collection of scientific specimens of the human body on loan from the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine Anatomy Department at Nanyang Technological University and von Hagens Plastination institute. Used for medical study and surgical training, these extraordinary plastinated specimens offer visitors a rare opportunity to encounter human anatomy through a cultural and scientific lens. Presented with care and ethical consideration, the anatomy display will be sensitively managed, with staff present to support a respectful and considered viewing experience.
In addition to scientific specimens and artworks, the exhibition features an extensive survey of Traditional Chinese Medicine practices, showcasing over 40 items from Singapore College of Traditional Chinese Medicine-one of the oldest, largest, and most respected institutions of its kind in Southeast Asia.
At its heart, Flesh and Bones shows how the human body has been understood through medicine, creative expression, and ritual, across cultures and through centuries. It reveals anatomy as a site for examining identity, selfhood, and mortality, and invites visitors to consider how both art and science continue to inform our relationship with our own bodies.
Flesh and Bones: The Art of Anatomy runs from 21 March till 16 August 2026. Tickets to the exhibition will be available for purchase at all Marina Bay Sands box offices and online from 4 March onwards. For more information on the exhibition, visit here.
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