I caught the train to London last Friday to see the Forensics: The Anatomy of Crime exhibition at the Wellcome Collection. The five exhibition rooms are an insight into the world of forensics from the crime scene through to methods of detection.
A kitchen crime scene from the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death
The first room documents the crime scene, and what particularly interested me was Frances Glessner Lee’s Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death. These are a series of miniature crime scene models which are designed in the style of a dolls house. They were created for detectives so they could reimagine the scene of a crime in three dimensions. The Nutshell Studies have got me thinking about exploring the idea of recreating a murder scene using a dolls house. This brings me back to my dissertation research into the uncanny and the home which continually interests me.
The role of the forensic entomologist was fascinating as I often use insects in my work. My insects are a symbol for an emotional or physical change but in crime detection an insect can reveal the time of death and much more. A maggot indicates when a fly laid its eggs on a corpse and so can pinpoint the exact time a person has died. Insects also reveal location. If a body is moved the insect becomes a vital part of the evidence in capturing the perpetrator.
The second room was called The Morgue and was not for the faint hearted. Seeing the post mortem ceramic slab stained with traces of blood is not comfortable viewing. In the same room I saw two ladies listening to something through headphones. I watched their faces, at first they looked at each other and laughed, but after a few seconds I could see they were becoming increasingly uneasy. It was obvious from the expressions on their faces what they were hearing was unpleasant. They hurriedly moved on. When I put the headphones on I could hear this strange sloshing sound. It sounded a little like someone was walking through a thick, wet, sticky substance. I then read the information board on the wall and found out I was hearing the sound recording of a post-mortem examination. Knowing this made the experience deeply unpleasant, and like the ladies before me, I quickly went to look at the next exhibit.
Sejla Kameric, (no date) Ab uno omnes [Multimedia installation inside a working mortuary fridge]
In the next room was a mortuary fridge which is part of an artwork by Sejla Kameric. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to go in, but then how many people can say they went in a mortuary fridge and walked out again. The exhibition attendant told me only one person was allowed in at a time. I said to her ‘you won’t lock me in there will you’? She replied ‘of course not’. The moment I stepped in she slammed the door! Inside was a small screen showing a film about the missing victims of the Bosnian war. Images are flashed on the screen in quick succession. You begin to think about the enormity of war and the emotional loss to families when you learn that 34,000 people go missing during conflicts. It was too chilly to stay in fridge very long and I was beginning to get concerned whether I could get out.
The 19th-century criminal profiler Alphonse Bertillon posing for a mugshot in 1913
The Laboratory explores the methods used for tracking criminals. I was very interested to learn about the work of Alphonse Bertillon. He was a French criminologist who invented the technique of identifying individuals by head, facial features, scars and body measurements. These were all recorded on cards with a photograph of frontal and profile portraits of the suspect – the mugshot.
Jenny Hozer. (1993 – 94) Lustmort Tables [multiple bones, some with silver bands engraved with details of the victims rape, torture and murder]
The next room was called The Search and contained exhibits showing how the police and forensic experts search for traces of evidence. What stood out in the room was a table covered in human bones. The bones were from an installation called Lustmort Tables by the artist Jenny Holzer. Lustmort is a German word meaning rape and murder. The work is a powerful and disturbing exploration of war and rape. For me what was immediately disconcerting was a long row of human teeth. As I looked closer I could see that some of the bones had a small silver ring on them. The texts engraved on these rings are the words of the perpetrator, the victim and observer of the war crime. All sides of a rape and murder are exposed making Lustmort difficult viewing as you are forced to think about the destruction of lives and innocence.
Taryn Simon. (no date) The Innocents [photograph]
The final room is The Court room. What was particularly poignant was a series of photographs by Taryn Simon. The photographs named The Innocents depict men who have been wrongly convicted of violent crimes they did not commit.
I came away from the exhibition filled with ideas. I have been planning to make a painting of a mugshot using strong colour. I had already drawn my image on to a canvas and had wanted to make the background a very ornate floral yellow wallpaper. After the forensic exhibition I have decided to have an insect print on the wallpaper. The insect will allude to the crime which has been committed by the figure in the painting.
Colour test and drawing on to a canvas ready for painting
In April I shall be going back to the Wellcome Collection as they have a Forensic Identity exhibition. This will be investigating the traces we all leave behind in our environment and on each other.
