What the Wellcome Collection's new exhibition, The Cult of Beauty, doesn’t do is ask whether there are evolutionary forces that put a premium on, say, small waists and larger hips in women, or tallness in men, as the markers of youth and therefore fertility or of good genes: that’s addressed elsewhere at this museum.
But this ambitious exhibition has a larger agenda, viz, “to invite visitors to question established norms, challenge preconceived notions of beauty and will encourage dialogue, reflection and more inclusive definitions of beauty”.
