Contemporary Design Seminar
Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design
Advisor: Prof. Ori Bartal
Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design
Advisor: Prof. Ori Bartal
Figure 1 Illustration of a criminal ear. Illustration retrieved from "Criminal man, according to the classification of Cesare Lombroso" by Ferrero, Gina Lombroso, published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York
Figure 3 Anthropometric data sheet (both sides) of Alphonse Bertillon (1853-1914).
Retrieved from the archives of Service Regional d'Identité Judiciaire,Préfecture de Police, Paris, by Jebulon
Retrieved from the archives of Service Regional d'Identité Judiciaire,Préfecture de Police, Paris, by Jebulon
Visual media and imaging have long since been known for their power to tell the truth, to show facts, reveal justice or accumulate blame. For law enforcement, criminal investigations and courts, it remains a mainstay of crime prevention and prosecution strategies.
A visual representation, a photograph, an image, all have a sense of immediacy and objectivity that is hard to deny. Fingerprints, mugshots, facial composites, photo lineups, surveillance footage, and even DNA profiling imaging, are all ‘visual substitutes’ of the criminal’s visual representation, used for identification and prosecution. This visual substitute is perceived as an accurate visual representation, a certainty, a known image of the world. But the relationship between imagery, truth and justice is far more complex.
A visual representation, a photograph, an image, all have a sense of immediacy and objectivity that is hard to deny. Fingerprints, mugshots, facial composites, photo lineups, surveillance footage, and even DNA profiling imaging, are all ‘visual substitutes’ of the criminal’s visual representation, used for identification and prosecution. This visual substitute is perceived as an accurate visual representation, a certainty, a known image of the world. But the relationship between imagery, truth and justice is far more complex.
On the one hand, the use of surveillance cameras, CCTV, mobile phone footage, or even posts of criminal activity uploaded to social media, demonstrate visual imaging’s intention to seek justice. On the other hand, images can be reproduced, disseminated and misused, they can include bias, misleading or mistaken information, and in worst cases, be the source of the injustice itself.
In this paper, I study the role of visual media in unjust criminal investigation processes.
As a visual communication graduate student, I try to understand to what extent visual media is responsible for the intolerably large number of worldwide wrongful convictions. In my search for answers, I reviewed three different investigation procedures: 1) Mugshots, as used to identify criminals and feed facial recognition software. 2) Photo lineups, as used to identify suspects by eyewitnesses. And 3) DNA profiling imaging, as used to showcase the comparison between the defendant’s DNA and that of the perpetrator. I will exemplify with three unjust true legal cases and review three case studies of visual projects that criticize these injustices.
As a visual communication graduate student, I try to understand to what extent visual media is responsible for the intolerably large number of worldwide wrongful convictions. In my search for answers, I reviewed three different investigation procedures: 1) Mugshots, as used to identify criminals and feed facial recognition software. 2) Photo lineups, as used to identify suspects by eyewitnesses. And 3) DNA profiling imaging, as used to showcase the comparison between the defendant’s DNA and that of the perpetrator. I will exemplify with three unjust true legal cases and review three case studies of visual projects that criticize these injustices.
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