
heather dewey-hagborg creates three-dimensional portraits using DNA samples
image © dan phiffer
through an un-usual DNA collection method, american artist heather dewey-hagborg creates portrait sculptures
from the analyses of genetic material collected in public places. from cigarette butts to hair samples, she works
using random traces left behind from un-suspecting strangers.
in a statement by dewey-hagborg, 'stranger visions' calls attention to the impulse toward genetic determinism
and the potential for a culture of genetic surveillance. using DNA facial modeling software and a 3D printer,
physical models are conceived - reconstructed from ethnic profiles, eye color and hair color.

three-dimensional portrait from DNA sample
image © dan phiffer

three dimensional figures conceived from DNA gathered on github
images courtesy heather dewey-hagborg

process showcased
image © dan phiffer

process showcased
image © dan phiffer

DNA hair sample collection at site
image © thomas dexter

petri dish DNA samples
image courtesy heather dewey-hagborg

(left) bushwick - adonis grocery, 209 wilson ave, (right) DNA sample from haplogroup: H1+16189 (spanish, berber, lebanese)
sample 10
images courtesy heather dewey-hagborg

(left) bushwick - laundromat, himrod st, (right) DNA sample from haplogroup: H2a2a (eastern europe, near east)
sample 12
images courtesy heather dewey-hagborg

(left) sample 10, (right) sample 12
images courtesy heather dewey-hagborg

heather dewey-hagborg with 3D head
image courtesy heather dewey-hagborg
creepy!
that’s pretty damn scary
It could used by police, just for make a portrait of the person of interest…
So is this art or science
if you put it in a frame is the science art ???????????????
an intellectual exercise perhaps
but beyond that…. I think not
more safe artsy-fartsy
Software that extracts a facial model from DNA: I fail to believe this. It is an artistic interpretation that just uses the few elements that can be read from the DNA: eye color, hair type and ethnicity. The owner from the DNA could be looking totally different then the 3D modeled head.
I think the first three people who left a comment did not understand. The software is not capable of reconstructing a face from the DNA. The artist just creates a random face (probably with an of the shelf 3D facial generator) and chooses the eye color, hair type and ethnicity. It’s SCi-Fi with some reality in it.
This is entirely fake. DNA can not provide information on what someone will look like, just their race. If you’re curious, the software used to do this is called FaceGen – and is most often used in videogames.
is good