DUNDEE UNIVERSITY has established a new forensic art unit as part of a collaboration between the anatomy and art departments.

Forensic artwork includes disciplines such as building facial reconstructions, recreating facial appearance from post-mortem images or illustrations of trauma for use in court.

The work has widespread use, from human identification purposes to archeological investigations to work for museums and the media.

Within the unit is a groundbreaking computer facial reconstruction system, which enables the user to ‘feel’ the surface of the skull or face on the computer screen.

The unit is based within Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design.

On show yesterday in the unit, based in the Crawford Building, were exhibits such as reconstructed skulls.

Dr Caroline Wilkinson is spearheading the new initiative, and has a lot of experience in the field.

She worked with producers recently on the TV programme Meet The Ancestors, and was recently involved in the facial reconstruction of an ancient Anglo-Saxon princess.

Dr Wilkinson came to Dundee University after being approached by Professor Sue Black, head of the university’s anatomy and forensic anthropology department.

She said, “Professor Black approached me about getting involved with the forensic reconstruction side of things. While I was moving some of my stuff up from Manchester University, where I formerly worked, the idea came about to create this new forensic art unit.

“On show today we have some examples of the work we do, such as facial reconstructions and reconstructed skulls.

“At the moment we have only been up and running for a couple of weeks so we are still unpacking material, but we are hoping to involve members of the College of Art and Design, such as animation students, in our research and teaching.

“You need artistic skills to produce a lot of the work we do as, for instance, facial reconstruction requires sculptural skills.

“There is a lot of detailed drawing work involved as well.

“At the same time, you need a sound knowledge of anatomy and forensic anthropology to ensure that the detail is correct.”