Art, Science and the Deceased Body: Towards a Duty of Care

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The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in partnership with the KwaZulu-Natal Museum in Pietermaritzburg, hosted Art, Science and the Deceased Body: Towards a Duty of Care - a four-day interdisciplinary event organised by Professor Michelle Stewart of Digital Arts.

The event was supported by a National Research Foundation (NRF) grant and funding from Professor Nobuhle Hlongwa, Dean of the School of Arts.

The exhibition, which remains open to the public at the KZN Museum until the end of August, presents a curated selection of contemporary works engaging with death, memory, and technology.

The programme brought together artists, forensic practitioners, curators, social scientists, and academics from South Africa, the United Kingdom, Poland, Egypt, Belgium, Sudan, The Netherlands, and Scotland. It featured two panel discussions and an exhibition co-curated by Mr Wesley Flanagan, Assistant Director of Exhibitions at the KZN Museum; Stewart; and museum staff. A two-part workshop, led by Ms Anna Suwalowska with contributions from Dr Halina Suwalowska and Flanagan, rounded out the event.

At the opening panel, Dr Suwalowska emphasised that the crisis response - during Ebola and COVID-19 - often failed to uphold the dignity owed to the deceased. Ms Lucinda Evert highlighted how forensic identification can restore identity, memory, and accountability for communities affected by conflict or disaster.

Scotland’s Perth Museum also presented its Faces from the Past project, which uses digital facial reconstruction to humanise the archaeological record by bringing ancestral faces to life through innovative research and display strategies.

The two-part workshop, Between Magic and Realism: Human Remains in the Museum Collection, encouraged participants to reflect on curatorial protocols, community engagement, and colonial legacies. Under Ms Anna Suwalowska’s direction, and with key contributions from Dr Suwalowska and Flanagan, participants explored culturally sensitive strategies for handling human remains in institutional collections.

Highlighted pieces included works by a range of artists, such as:

•    Mr Limo Velapi (South Africa): The Sculpted Archive: Digitally Crafted, Virtually Kept, an AR-enhanced digital sculpture

•    Ms Anna Suwalowska (Poland): Dance of Transcendence I, II and III, autopsy-inspired artworks

•    Ms Raja Oshi (Sudan/South Africa): Unknown, Unclaimed, and Mourning in Stitches, exploring bodies abandoned in conflict

•    Dr Rania Fouad (Egypt): CT Scan Mummy I, II and III, painted CT-scan mummies

•    Professor Michelle Stewart (South Africa): Mortal Fragments I and II, 3D-printed digital clay facial fragments

•    Ms Anaïs Chabeur (Belgium): Rehearsal, audio-visual reflections on corpse care

•    Professor Yane Bakreski (Macedonia): Sacred Remains, AR memorial sculpture

•    Mr Sherif El Azma (Egypt): The ‘Offerings’ Series, on archaeological burial spaces

•    Mr Peter Stewart (South Africa): Mfowethu Phezulu (In Memoriam Michael Gasa), tribute to Zulu artist Michael Gasa

•    Mr Wesley Flanagan (South Africa): Nocturne: Portrait Miniature of a Lady, an AI-animated Georgian memorial portrait

Far from passive display, each work serves as an investigatory tool - challenging colonial-era assumptions and questioning institutional authority over human remains.

In essence, Art, Science and the Deceased Body transcended the boundaries of a traditional academic conference. It functioned as an ethical intervention, urging institutions and artists alike to reimagine their responsibilities to the deceased. The event highlighted creative-forensic collaborations rooted in dignity, remembrance and respect.

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Words: NdabaOnline

Photographs: Supplied