The Chelsea Manning Support Network writes, “Tonight from 7-9 pm is the opening reception for the New York City premiere of Heather Dewey Hagborg’s DNA Phenotyping 3-D portraits of Chelsea Manning, at Peninsula Art Space.”
“Heather’s project examines our society just as much as it examines my DNA. Consider the online refrain ‘pics, or it didn’t happen.’ Our culture’s dependence on imagery says a lot about our values. Unfortunately, prisons try very hard to make us inhuman and unreal. They do this by denying our image, and thus our existence, to the rest of the world.”
— Chelsea Manning.
Entitled, “Radical Love,” these portraits were originally commissioned by Paper Magazine to illustrate their September 2015 feature interview with Chelsea. The 3D prints also premiered at the World Economic Forum in January of 2016.
“Radical Love” is an homage and exploration of gender identity stereotypes in forensic DNA phenotyping. The full color life-sized 3d printed portraits of Chelsea Manning were generated from analyses of her DNA, extracted from cheek swabs and hair clippings sent to the artist from Chelsea through the mail.
The exhibit is part of a larger showcase, entitled ” Conjunctions.” This group exhibition, presented in collaboration with Residency Unlimited, is curated by Rachel Valinsky, and features: Heather Dewey-Hagborg, Jonas Weber Herrera, Andreas Savva, and Kato Six.
“Conjunctions” runs from November 4-20, 2016.
22. DNA extraction process and forensic samples photo credit Thomas Dexter
27. Installation at Biel Bienne Photography Festival, Switzerland: photo credit ©Luthy