face VALUE

You won't find many artists like Kathryn Smith. She brings together science and art to give a face to unidentified human remains. As one of just two formally trained civilian forensic artists, she hopes to change the way we treat our dead

- CHARIS TORRANCE

A child of the ’80s, Kathryn Smith was brought up on episodes of Police File and MacGyver. ‘I think the first time I knew facial reconstruction was possible was from an episode of MacGyver. I remember watching it – I think I was 12 – and I thought, “Okay, this is it.” It obviously stuck with me.’

These days, Kathryn is an interdisciplinary visual artist, curator, and senior lecturer at Stellenbosch University’s Department of Visual Arts, although it is her work around forensic facial identification and depiction that has grabbed our attention. With her expertise in both traditional and digital visual and artistic imaging, she plays a vital role in assisting with the identification of unknown people, both living and deceased. Kathryn specialises in giving a face to unidentified bodies – bringing an end to these people’s stories or opening a new chapter in uncovering what happened to them. 

‘For every unidentified body, there is a missing person. It’s what I call a silent mass disaster in South Africa,’ Kathryn says. Although the exact number is hard to pinpoint, she estimates there are probably 10000 unidentified bodies arriving in morgues around the country every year. And in the case of unidentified murder victims, bringing the perpetrator to justice is almost impossible without a positive ID. She hopes, through her work, to bring some form of peace to families.

A LOVE OF TRUE CRIME