An art project launched four years ago illustrated how scraps of DNA found in public could be turned into eerily lifelike composite sketches and three-dimensional models — now the police appear to be taking that technology in new (and potentially disturbing) direction.

Heather Dewey-Hagborg collected strands of hair, discarded cigarettes, chewing gum and other found materials and worked them into hauntingly realistic masks as part of Stranger Visions in 2012. But her resulting sculptures were at best approximate — DNA can only tell you so much about what a person looks like. Such limitations are not stopping law enforcement agencies, however, from pushing the limits of the technology.

Companies like Parabon NanoLabs that specialize in DNA phenotyping, however, are working with the Department of Defense and other agencies to use similar approaches. Their Snapshot technology references databases that pair genetic information with physical traits. Agencies can thus send in DNA and get back a genetic profile or even a composite sketch.

Used as a means of eliminating suspects from the pool or identifying remains, this technology could be fine. However, since it can’t tell weight, age and other features (even race can be ambiguous), it is also possible that such renderings would mislead investigators — or worse: influence trials in the wrong direction. Photo-realistic images and models have a way of skewing the perceptions of the observer — once seen they are hard to unsee.

“Ancestry becomes a sort of short-cut term for race,” Dewey-Hagborg worries. “When it’s a person reading their own genealogical information, they’re going to look at that in light of what they know about their own personal history. But when it gets into the hands of the police, that all gets thrown out the window, because there is no self-knowing subject there.” Advocates of the technology point out that these is not how they intend it to be used — but still, in comparing it to data gathered from eyewitness accounts or surveillance cameras, they risk going in that direction anyway.

More from the artist about Stranger Visions: she “creates portrait sculptures from analyses of genetic material collected in public places. Working with the traces strangers unwittingly leave behind, Dewey-Hagborg calls attention to the developing technology of forensic DNA phenotyping and the potential for a culture of biological surveillance. Designed as an exploratory project based on emerging science, the forecast of Stranger Visions has proved prescient.”

If you have ever wondered how and where the Department Homeland Security evaluates drones for real-world applications, this Freedom of Information Act request reveals some of the secrets behind the operations taking place at one of these rather mysterious locations. Not to be confused with its video game namesake, tracing back to Grand Theft Auto’s own digital Liberty City, this real-world test site is fascinating to learn about remotely but not somewhere you want to have an actual vehicular adventure.

For years, the government has been testing drones for everything from monitoring infrastructure and special events to patrolling harbors and supporting first responders. Run by Robotic Aircraft for Public Safety (RAPS), Liberty City and sites like it let local, regional and national governments deploy different models of drone and decide which best suit their needs. Like Gravesend in the UK (pictured above), officers and troops are also called in on the ground to interact in these remarkably complete but staged environments.

Variegated urban terrains help those overseeing the tests determine a drone’s ability to identify key objects and individuals in the built environment, distinguish assailants and perpetrators in complex situations and track persons through challenging architectural landscapes. Simulations revolve around everything from ordinary robberies to hostage situations and terrorist attacks. The goal, ultimately, is to figure out what (completely or partially) autonomous vehicle technologies will work both generally and around specific purposes, for applications ranging from emergency search-and-rescue to broader everyday surveillance. While the work they are doing in these places is not classified as such, it is still highly secretive and much of it still remains undisclosed after years of inquiry.

Submitted via MuckRock, the FOIA request behind the details featured here sheds light on the reasons and methods behind these processes and places. Per Shawn Musgrave, “The broad objective of RAPS is to determine whether drones can play a practical role in a broad range of public safety deployments. Such applications include law enforcement, firefighting, disaster response, and search-and-rescue. The RAPS testing program evaluates each drone model for ease of operation, durability and performance in simulated scenarios. Reviewers compile their findings into a database for first responders nationwide to use when weighing a drone purchase.”

Banksy is an artist with the rare power to make walls more valuable after he has vandalized them, which some then seek to alter or  destroy and others fight to protect and save. The highly-publicized and daily-updated images of his residency in New York largely tell the first part of the story, but there is another side to the tale as well about the aftermath, and that side has even more surprising and surreal plot twists.

Some graffiti artists feel compelled to cover over his art, out of anger, jealousy or perhaps a mixture of the two. He has been broadly criticized by the tagging community for his lack of respect for rules (or at least conventions), and thus justify defacing his pieces. In many instances, multiple tags have appeared over and around in the days and weeks that follow.

Meanwhile, NYC official policies regarding vandalism mean that municipal authorities are theoretically bound to paint over his work, even if it might be worth tens of thousands of dollars. Thus, the police hunt him and city workers are tasked to whitewash paintings from sight. Some still snap their own photos before taking on the job, and one has to wonder how they feel about their assignment.

On the flip side, many other fans, pedestrians and building owners interact with or even fight to defend the pieces at almost any cost for personal or financial reasons. In one instance, some passers by intercepted and stopped someone who sought to add his own interpretation to a newly-posted work. Of course, without added measures, most of these efforts eventually fail.

In another case, a savvy building owner hired around-the-clock security to protect the work found on his walls and even installed a locked gate over it. Sooner or later, though, someone will no doubt find a way to alter or destroy the silhouetted figures. And regardless, they are rendered somewhat crass in their new industrial frame.

Steven Colbert jokingly put a frame on the side of his studio, telling Banksy via his television show not to paint inside it and thus make him rich. Unsurprisingly, Banksy obliged and stayed away, but Hanksy took him up on his public and ironic non-offer, adding some fresh work outside of Colbert’s door. In his typical style, Hanksy spoofed the celebrity-in-question’s name with an intentionally poor animal pun.

Given his high profile, it is no surprise that Banksy’s installations and stencils attracts a wide mix of attention wherever he goes, from the police and other authorities, on the one hand, to local citizens and artists on the other. Still, whether they see him as famous or infamous, it is always fascinating to see just who reacts and how to the mixed reputation of this mysterious street artist.  One has to suspect, though, that he doesn’t really mind the attention either way (images via Banksy, AnimalNewYork, Gothamist and the New York Post).

Brad Downey is familiar with both sides of the art world, with a fine arts degree and gallery exhibitions, on the one hand, and run-ins with the authorities about his sometimes-unsanctioned street art on the other.

His work is harder to describe that it is to simply see, since it is often in the most public places you could imagine (or documented via extensive photography) – erupting from sidewalks, disrupting bicycle lanes or literally ripping up cobbled streets

Per the pictures, sometimes these installations transpose ideas and objects from other contexts, but they also frequently warp existing everyday objects like bicycles, cars, signs, benches, shopping carts and garbage cans.

Sometimes he works alone – sometimes collaboratively. Some of his pieces are stand-alones and one-offs while others form sets, like Wedging (shown above), which is a series of experiments of balance and obstruction in alleys with ordinary household items.

He has had run-ins with police while working in cities ranging from London to Amsterdam, on both art and guerrilla marketing projects performed in that gray area of public and possible vandalism.

Never accuse Japan‘s police of not giving a hoot… they must be, since they’re working in owl-shaped police stations! These seven Fukuro Koban (literally “Owl Police Boxes”) help put a friendly face on local policing while reminding citizens their protectors are always on watch.

Kitano Police Box, Kobe

(images via: Soul of Kobe, Chakoboo and Turn My Eyes)

Kitano-cho is the historical district of Kobe, Japan, and its charming collection of antique architecture has survived a series of wars and natural disasters, the latter including the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995. Architecturally, the Kitano Police Box is typically restrained but distinguishes itself via the white stone owl statues positioned at its streetside roof cornices.

(image via: Sosshiy_i)

The owls appear as guardians, observing the neighborhood from a raised vantage point and symbolizing the function of the koban itself. As such, the building acts as a template influencing the design of modern koban police boxes that would eventually incorporate the “watchful owl” theme into their overall design.

Owl in the Iron Mask

(images via: Edward Suzuki Associates, Inc., RightLightJP and Keishicho)

Udagawa police box in Shibuya was designed by architect Edward Suzuki and opened in April of 1985. The koban is practical as well as photogenic: the owlish “beak” does double duty as a sheltered overhang allowing officers to park their bicycles on a dry patio.

(image via: Aina Yamauchi Blog)

Though shoe-horned into a highly-developed corner of one of Tokyo’s busiest shopping neighborhoods, the Udagawa-cho police box seems to fit right in while remaining easily identifiable to people seeking assistance.

Duck & Cover

(image via: Odai)

Koban are typically designed for a pair of policemen but depending on the location and need, some may house more or less. In the latter case and with “less” meaning “one”, the result is often a glorified phone booth barely big enough for a desk and chair. Even so, the rather duck-like police box above performs its function while still getting the message across.

Salute!

(images via: ChangeLog, NNN Straight News and Marst28)

Lest anyone mistake the police box in Nagoya’s Naka-ku district for some sort of urban bird sanctuary, the designers of this koban skillfully melded visual cues from owls with the stylized representation of a saluting police officer.

(image via: TYaoyama)

The station was designed by local firm Nikken Sekkei and was completed in September of 1997. According to the building’s sponsors, the City of Nagoya, the intent was to create a building that advertised its purpose without resorting to a standard sign – in this case, the building is the sign.

Ikebukuro Station Owl Koban

(images via: Otaku Construction Diary, Hoihoi123 and Nanamediary)

Ikebukuro Station in semi-suburban Tokyo is one of the world’s busiest train stations serving around 3 million people each day. It’s not the sort of place you want to get lost at but if you do, just look for the friendly owl… in the form of a police station!

(image via: Katabami03)

Positioned near Ikebukuro Station’s east exit, the owl-shaped police box originated in drawings submitted by elementary and junior high school students living in the area. It officially opened on April 1st of 2005… no foolin’!

Tono City’s Winking Owl Koban

(images via: Meter’s Merveillespace, KSVN and Kappasweet)

Tono City in Japan’s northeastern Iwate prefecture is famed for its rich folk traditions and a wealth of old-fashioned architecture that attracts tourists from across the country. Tono City’s population is roughly 30,000 and crime is rare, even for Japan, so the station’s staff exercise their duties by dispensing directions and rescuing the odd treed cat.

(image via: Treasure Box)

The Winking Owl Koban isn’t exactly old but its distinctive charm complements the town’s general aesthetic while standing out just enough to serve as a popular meeting spot – day or night – for tourists and townspeople alike.

Night Owl in Chiba

(images via: Suke-san’s Daily Blog, Hal-ume0115, Tokyo Night Sight View and Tabi Smile)

Combine Oz the Great & Powerful, Vaal from the original Star Trek TV series and an ordinary owl and you’ll get something like the large, imposing yet cute & cuddly Owl Koban located outside Chiba Station, just east of metro Tokyo. Evldoers beware: in Chiba at least, the long arm of the law ends in fearsomely sharp talons.

(image via: Rieyoshii)

Though the rather large koban looks harmless enough by day, the advent of twilight exposes another side to its perceived personalty… light shining out its eyes from inside give this koban a demonic demeanor!

(images via: Concert Tour Asia, Ponycraft and wryknowE)

No, Japanese police aren’t really actual owls dressed in uniform, nor do the post offices look like mailboxes… at least, not yet. In the meantime, enjoy your travels in Japan knowing, for better or worse, someone’s watching over you.