Everybody likes to believe that they will leave some kind of mark on this earth when they die, but for some, nobody will ever even know they are gone

In the US, there are more than 2,000 unidentified women lying in morgues and unmarked graves across the country.

Artist Sarah Honan, 19, from Waterford, Ireland, has now painted the portraits of several of these females alongside the limited details of their deaths, and any other information that is known about them in a project called Blink.

An Irish artist has painted a series of portraits of some of the 2,000-plus 'Janes Does' in morgues and graveyards across America who weren't identified after their deaths. Now on show in Waterford City, Ireland, the Blink exhibition hopes to build a legacy for the forgotten women (Pictured left: A victim of a 'sex party' gone wrong was found laying dead between two parked cars in April 2004, in New York, pictured right: A woman found naked on a street in Mount Vernon, New York, in 1988

Explaining why she decided to do the portraits, Sarah said: 'I decided to do the project because after originally searching for one Jane Doe to paint and then uncovering thousands, I realised that this was something very important.'

While the information held on each woman varies greatly in detail, some clearly suffered violent deaths.

One woman (pictured above right), was found on 14 February 1988, naked and lying on the street in an industrial area in Mount Vernon, New York.

There were clear signs that she had been bound at the hands and ankles prior to her death.

Another (pictured above left), was the victim of a 'sex party' gone wrong, and was found laying dead between two parked cars on 27 April 2004 in New York city.

While some of the women portrayed died in apparently violent circumstances, others, such as this elderly woman found unresponsive outside 145 West 55th street in New York, in 2010, are shrouded in mystery and speculation

Sarah was so touched by the stories of these women that she wanted to create a lasting memory for them on this earth, as they had been forgotten by those who knew them when they were alive.

She said: 'I think that everyone deserves some form of legacy and in a way when these women died and went unidentified it was as if their slates had been wiped clean.

'No name, no memories, no legacy.

'I thought that once I was aware of this information it would be wrong of me to ignore it.

Sarah painted the women from their morgue photographs, which she found on the Unidentified Persons Database.

From gender based violence to the representation of women in society past and present, the Blink project hopes to raise questions about the way women and their identity have been treated throughout history

Sarah believes that it is important these Jane Does are remembered because of the what they say about the way women are treated in society.

She said: 'They had so much to say about gender based violence, the representation of women in society and lack of female identity throughout history.

'These were all issues I'd long wanted to explore and this became my way of entering the dialogue.'

The woman pictured above is a typical example of the many women, who were most likely abused, that Sarah is so keen to bestow a legacy on.

Found dead in an alley in Detroit wearing fishnet stockings and a red mini dress, this woman, thought to be no more than 22-years-old, was the victim of murder in September 1967.

The woman pictured below was first found lying in lying in a field in Howard County, Maryland on 15 July 1971.

She was wearing nothing but a 'half slip and panties' when she was discovered, and died two months later on September 7.

This middle aged woman was found in July 1971, lying in a field in Howard County, Maryland,

Although very little is known about any of these women, some of the horrors that were experienced by them shortly before they died are clear from just a couple of lines of information on how they were found.

The woman pictured below was found nude inside a metal cabinet that was placed on the sidewalk, in March 1988.

Her head had been 'wrapped in duct tape and multiple layers of plastic wrap'.

This woman was found nude inside a metal cabinet that was placed on the sidewalk, in March 1988, in the Bronx, New York

The woman pictured was discovered in a motel room in July 1991, with no information to identify her

Another women, pictured above, was found dead in a motel room in Eldorado, Arknsas, on 10 July 1991, wearing a pair of white socks , some acid wash blue jeans, a black belt and a white T-shirt.

While the circumstances of many of the women are mixed with signs of violence and troubled lives, others are heartrendingly sad in other ways.

One such story is of the woman pictured below.

Thought to be between 55 and 60 years old, the lady was found 'slumped over in a stall in the ladies' restroom inside the Greyhound Bus Terminal at 200 S. Main St. in Las Vegas.'

Dressed in a floral blouse, blue trousers, and wearing a wedding ring, the woman had no personal identification about her, even in the handbag that was hanging next to her on the back of the door.

Found on 10 July 1982 slumped over in the bathroom of a Las Vegas bus station , this woman, thought to be near 55 years old and wearing a white metal wedding ring, but carried no personal identification whatsoever

When faced with how to represent these lost women, Sarah, who currently lives in Waterford herself, decided that an honest portrayal was the only way.

She said: 'I didn't want to imagine lives or faces for these women that they never had - I thought this would be disrespectful.

'So I was brutally honest, I represented exactly what I had before me, no retouching or editing.

'With what faced me honesty was the only real option.'