Artist Makes 3-D Portraits From DNA Found on Gum, Cigarette Butts, and Fingernails

“It all started with wondering what I could learn about someone from a little piece ... they left behind,“ says artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg. Using discarded items like cigarette butts, chewing gum, and fingernails, she extracted traces of DNA to create masks based on the owner’s genetic profile. While difficult to determine how closely these portraits match the original holder, they do put a human face on larger questions surrounding genetic surveillance. Filmmakers Veena Rao and Emily Sheskin present Dewe