Transmutations

This is something fascinating that I came across while reading the December 2003 edition of Scientific American.

The cover of the magazine features 6 photographs of the facial profile of a female model. These photographs originated from the same photo source, digitally altered with only minor differences - for example, eye/hair colour, the colour of skin. If each photo were viewed separately, one might not realise that the photos are of the same person: the ‘minor differences’ influences the viewer’s decision to classify the model into different races. In one photo the model looks perfectly Japanese, in another she looks Russian.

Reading into the feature article, I discovered that the amalgam was generated with a computer tool called the Human Race Machine, that was designed by (bioart?) artist Nancy Burson. It’s quite amazing really. Apparently, all one needs to do is to sit in front of the machine and enter a few keys, while the program does the rest of the work.

The artist’s website can be found here. It’s a pity it doesn’t contain the Scientific American photographs since they are a lot more racially ambiguous than the photos in her website.

It’s quite normal for a person to be mistaken for a person of another race (as how we tend to define it). Even I get that sometimes. But to be able to transpose oneself into a great variety of races, while still maintaining one’s distinct facial characteristics, is something that’s quite amazing.

I remember that when I was young, I did not know that I was Chinese but thought myself as English because my primary spoken language was English. It was only later that I learnt otherwise. Yet I wonder, why was it that I did not challenge the assumption that I am Chinese, but chose to assume it as fact? How often do we take for granted the classifications of things around us without questioning the rules that govern these classifications?

Subjects: General

Mood: Discoveries & Relevations, Philosophical Musings

Tags: bio-art, Scientific American