Art Exhibit Displays Recreations Of Unidentified Victims

TRIBECA, NY — A new exhibit displaying sculptures from New York art students has an unusual origin story: All of the sculptures depict dead people who have never been identified, some of them having died painful and violent deaths.

The art project, a partnership between the New York Academy of Art in Tribeca and forensic experts and medical examiner's offices, is part of a unique initiative to help identify victims in cold cases. Homicide victims who have never identified, abandoned bodies found with no identification, and migrants who died while crossing the treacherous border between Mexico and the U.S. are all among the deceased that these students are working to to recreate a face for.

As part of a week-long course at the New York Academy of Art, students are given a block of clay and replica of a skull, and sometimes a few details from a police report. From that, they work to create the individual's face, in the hopes that the reconstruction could help authorities or loved ones identify the person in question. Students work with forensic expert Joe Mullins to help recreate the individuals' faces.

The students' work is on display to the public at the academy, which was founded by Andy Warhol. The exhibit, which opened on Thursday, is on view at 111 Franklin St.

When the program launched in 2015, the school partnered with the New York City medical examiner's office to help identify victims in cold cases from throughout the city. Dr Bradley Adams, the director of forensic anthropology at the medical examiner's office, called the project a "last-ditch effort" to try and identify victims who couldn't be found through finger printing, dental records and DNA tests. In 2015, the project resulted in one positive identification of the 11 busts made, according to the academy's website.

This year, the project includes unknown persons from outside of New York City. Students are working with the Pima County medical examiner's office in Arizona to create the faces of eight unknown migrants who died while crossing the border into the U.S., the academy said.

The exhibit will be on display through March 29.

Correction: This post has been updated to reflect that the exhibit only shows sculptures from this year's program, and to note that this is not the first time the students' work has been on display. Patch regrets the errors.

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