Simone Malik dedicated four weeks to meticulously moulding the 3D sculpture, in a bid to help the ongoing search for Madeleine, who went missing in Portugal 18 years ago.
The 43-year-old ‘super recogniser’ Simone spent countless hours scrutinising Madeleine’s facial traits and her family to craft as accurate a replica as possible.
This year marks the 18th anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance on May 2007, at just three years old, and Simone believes her work could help the case forward.
Observing similarities between Madeleine and her sister Amelie, such as comparable jawlines and almost identical lips, the artist hopes these clues embedded within her sculpture might usher in new leads.
The model is 1 metre (3.2 feet) long, depicting Madeleine as a 21-year-old woman with contemporary makeup, dress and a ‘realistic body shape’ to reflect what she might look like now.
Simone, a former NHS worker from Bradford, West Yorkshire, confidently stated: “I think it’s the most accurate current model of Madeleine.
Simone working on her model (Image: SWNS)
“Amelie McCann appeared in public and there was a striking resemblance between her and a previous image of Madeline I did, some of the striking features including the jaw.
“Now here I am with a sculpture hoping the 3D image will shed light onto the mystery as she hasn’t been found, we must assume she’s alive and out there.”
She added: “I’ve also been looking into missing children, there’s so many children who have been missing for two decades and then found. Between 2021 and 2023 over 100 children were recovered after being missing for 20 years.”
She expressed hope her piece might help with this particular case: “The purpose of my sculpture is to ask the public to open their mind, if my sculpture leads to finding her then that’s a bonus.
“It’s actually a clay sculpture and I’ve done it all by hand, freestyling it.
“I’ve got super recognition abilities, but art and super recognition don’t go hand in hand.
The model of 21-year-old Madeleine (Image: SWNS)
“Super recognisers are more reliable than supercomputers. We are more accurate than computerised systems,” she explained.
“One of the things of a super recogniser is not just the memory, it’s also about matching faces and features.
“I’ve matched faces from family and their genetics and they do share certain traits with Madeleine.”
Discussing specific facial similarities, she said: “The forehead is wide and high, similar to Gerry McCann. The eyes are also similar to Gerry, the nose is similar to Philomena her aunt.
“The lip area is not protruding, she has very flat lips going inwards, Kate McCann also has those lips. Amelie also has those lips.
“I’ve studied her from several different angles, looking down, looking up. I’ve made her look more glamorous and adult-like.”
The model is dressed in modern clothing to symbolise her transition into adulthood (Image: SWNS)
Simone added that “The public look at images of Madeleine and see a toddler, maybe they’re looking for a toddler’s face.
“She’s now an adult, if she’s out there she’s probably getting her hair and makeup done.
“Thinking she’s no more is a cruel thing to do, there’s no concrete evidence to say she’s not alive.”
She expressed hope that the artwork might prompt new information: “If it can trigger someone out there and lead to something, I would be extremely proud.”
The clay rendition showcases Madeleine dressed in a contemporary red outfit with makeup to symbolise her transition into adulthood. The figure is slim, taking after her mum and sister, with shades of blonde hair.
Simone working on her model (Image: SWNS)
Simone detailed the research process: “I’ve looked at pictures of Madeleine and looked at videos, where she’s smiling cheekily at the camera.
“I’ve even studied the neck, when I studied her I noticed she had prominent lines on her neck.
“I’ve kept the hair to a range of blondes, so the public can see what she might look like with different tones of hair.
“I can give a human touch to the images and make it easier for the public to comprehend. This case has intrigued me.
“I started it on a small scale and then got carried away with my creativity. It took longer than I thought.”
Dressing Madeleine in a red form-fitting dress is part of the artist’s message: “She’s in a red tight dress, I want the public to realise she is now an adult and a young woman.
“Even with the figure, I’ve looked at Kate’s body and arms and her neck. I looked at her sister, too, it’s all very well thought out.”
Simone Malik says she is a ‘super-recogniser’ (Image: SWNS)
So-called super recognisers are renowned for their exceptional talent to remember and reconstruct facial features, enabling them to generate complete impressions based on partial information.
Simone has previously used this skill to help track down a child abductor in Pakistan, constructing his face from just a side profile.
Reflecting on this skill, she said: “I didn’t know that I had super recogniser abilities, I only figured out when I was looking at a news broadcast.
“I saw a killer and rapist in Pakistan who was never caught but the police had released a black and white image.
“All you could see on this CCTV footage was the beard but not the forehead and eyebrows.
“I ended up completing the face, then I realised that the killer was caught in a week.”
Simone clarified the nature of her talent, describing it as an internal process: “What we can do is face match, it’s almost like having a library in your head that you can match, like a puzzle in your head.
“I’ve not used my memory, I’ve used my face matching skills.”