#strangervisions

[hannahmatthewswestminster]

stranger visions, heather dewey-hagborg 

‘in ‘stranger visions’ I collected hairs, chewed up gum, and cigarette butts from the streets, public bathrooms and waiting rooms of New York City. I extracted DNA from them and analysed it to computationally generate 3d printed life size full colour portraits representing what those individuals might look like, based on genomic research. working with the traces strangers unwittingly left behind, the project was meant to call attention to the developing technology of forensic DNA phenotyping, the potential for a culture of biological surveillance, and the impulse towards genetic determinism’

‘i was greatly impressed by the distinct differences of their features, however the work also highlights our vulnerability. anyone could pick up our genetic information without us knowing and if skilled and equipped enough, be then able to produce an artificial duplicate of our bodies with all its individual features’

dewey-hagborg used physical DNA to extract the identities of individuals from the street using objects that strangers had left behind, this additionally included hair. this project was made in 2013, so it’s interesting to see 1- how this kind of technology could have developed and how easy it is to be cloned or re-created using simple objects we have come in contact with and 2- how this capability has become less physical and more technological, using our data to re-create us in virtual form. i’m sure this process would be even more detrimental in this way due to it not only knowing our physical appearance, but the depths of our personalities, interests, history, livelihoods etc. a very scary thought. we could be re-created physically in a second and already exist virtually in our entirety

[oneverycuriouscat]

What does your hair say about you?

I’ve always found the world of forensics fascinating. Despite a seemingly rocksolid alibi, a single strand of hair that shouldn’t be there can speak otherwise. The ‘Stranger Visions’ piece by Heather Dewey Hagborg at the fascinating Big Bang Data exhibition in Somerset House highlighted how minute physical fragments of our presence are constantly being unwittingly left as genetic debris, in the form of skin, saliva and hair. The piece exposed the extent to how vulnerable, detectable and accountable we all really are. The artist collected used souvenirs from members of New York City public, unknown and anonymous to her, who had randomly discarded articles such as cigarette butts, chewing gum and strands of hair. Through the use of DNA phenotyping (predicting an individuals’ physical traits based upon their genetic makeup) in a molecular biology lab, she was able to make a 3D portrait of close replication to the individual to which the genes belonged.

In the world of forensics, DNA phenotyping can be critically utilised in tests such as ‘IrisPlex’ where DNA collected can be analysed to ascertain eye colour of the suspect.  However on the flip side, do we want the data our bodies’ emit ending up in the wrong hands, identities being cloned and privacy encroached? There is also a terrifying possibility for the potential of genetic surveillance. With developing forensic technology, can ethics and individual autonomy keep up?

[thebeautyartistsblog-blog]

For my Mastered With Val course, this is model Lauren Maher in a look I designed to represent the dystopian existence of the future, where personal tracking, scanners and codes are the norm.