Human remains collected in colonial contexts and preserved in anthropology museums are now at the center of debates about restitution, balancing the urgency of diplomatic recognition of colonial debt with the slow legal process of establishing provenance and ownership. Artists have long engaged with these sensitive collections—from 17th–19th-century illustrations, photographs, and body casts to 20th- and 21st-century works that explore identity and poetic transformation of the remains, highlighting gaps, ambiguities, and ethical questions. Drawing on these artistic interventions, the research reveals a new relationship between art and science in representing collections suspended between life and death.