We leave ‘genetic artifacts’ everywhere we go, and it takes little more than a bit of amateur DNA sleuthing to discern a startling amount about us from these traces. Through her ‘Stranger Visions’ series, consisting of masks developed from the genetic material of strangers, the American artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg grapples with some of the difficult moral issues of genetic surveillance. Another one of her pieces offers a solution: DNA-erasing sprays.
Spray the DNA away – an artist’s stand against encroaching genetic surveillance
Directors: Veena Rao, Emily Sheskin
7 December 2015
videoBioethics
From identity politics to medicine, the DNA revolution demands a new bioethics
6 minutes
videoFilm and visual culture
With human help, AIs are generating a new aesthetics. The results are trippy
9 minutes
videoBiotechnology
The uncanny art inspired by evolution and generated by ‘crossbreeding’ images
5 minutes
videoArt
What does an AI make of what it sees in a contemporary art museum?
15 minutes
videoArt
Defying classification, fantastical artworks reframe the racism of Carl Linnaeus
8 minutes
videoInformation and communication
From mental image to sketch – how memories and emotions conjure up a face
23 minutes
videoTechnology and the self
A deepfake porn victim confronts the pain of having her likeness stolen and vandalised
19 minutes
videoArchaeology
New York’s 300-year-old trash becomes treasure in the hands of an urban archaeologist
23 minutes
videoBioethics
When, if ever, is selecting a ‘designer baby’ ethical?
5 minutes