In “Stranger Visions,” artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg collected stray hairs, gum and tossed cigarettes from strangers all around New York to create detailed masks of what these people might look like.
She extracted genetic material from these traces and used forensic software to create 3D-printed, life-size portraits of the anonymous individuals based solely on their genetic data. The project highlighted the rising power of DNA phenotyping and warned of a future where personal identity could be reconstructed without consent.
That future came quickly: Just two years later, companies like Parabon NanoLabs began offering DNA “snapshots” to law enforcement, raising ethical concerns about surveillance, bias, and racial profiling — issues Dewey-Hagborg continues to address in her work.
Check out some more images of these masks and a video detailing Heather’s scientific process after the jump!
That’s kind of intrusive and really kind of gross. And what if her likenesses are really spot-on? Does a person have a right to be angry if they spot themselves hanging on a wall in some exhibit?