about
In our semester task we had to deal with future questions and issues. Immortality was the centre of human interests in all ages. In this topic, I will address issues that arise from medical technology, which are inextricably linked to certain ethical issues.
Science has set itself the goal of developing the elixir of eternal life with nanotechnology. The newest way of thinking in nanotechnology is with the help of organically degradable substances that, when injected into our bodies, migrate to the defective parts and repair them. If medical science could deal with the restrictions of telomers from the DNS chain, it would fix aging problems. For intance, someone in the future who is 100 years old could easily look like a 30 years old person. So as with the help of the restriction enzyme modifying the structure of the genes, with the help of the molecular scissors, it would be possible to take and add parts from the DNS chain. There are big ethical issues with the "designer babies" - whom are cut and pasted as the parents wish for - is the danger of uniform looks. The importance of neurodiversity is as huge issue as how we can stop aging.
With these facts in mind, I created my question in my semester that looks at visual features through the glasses of identity. 64 students from the University of Kaposvár (now it is called RIPPL-RÓNAI UNIVERSITY) helped with this research. I made an experimental retouch on their portraits, in which I study a society that has complete control over their appearance, such as the colour of their eyes, the shape of their nose, the genetic choice of their mouth and their face forms.
Consultant
Gergely Szatmári
Gergely Szatmári
PROCESS
In the research, I have also involved a specialist who has often encountered useful analysis of the appearance of a workplace interview so far. Not only our thoughts or knowledge can sell us during an interview, but our outer marks and body language are very telling.
I asked Gergely Tomasovszky to join and write me a few words about the final portraits, but I did not tell him, that from the 24 portraits there were only 7 real person and the others are my fake retouched portraits. According to the feedback we could recognize some similarity in the descriptions he made amongst the
real personalities.
real personalities.
With the 64 portrait photographs of the university students, I have started to think and work in a system, where I started to sort the people into 4 groups. The ones with a decorative nose, mouth, and eyes, the fourth category formed according to the candidates' faces. With this methodology, the 4 different candidates' photographs are expreimentally retouched together into one final fake portrait. I ended up with 17 new personalities. I count the 24 photographs as I added 7 real human's photograph into this group of fake portraits. I mainly used the same gender from one portrait and there were 4 pictures where I mixed the genders together. Gergely named the portraits, so they have their fantasy names.
You can get to know the 24 portraits with their personalities here:
01
Kálmán comes from difficult circumstances and he has fought hard to be where he is now. He fled his traumas through his art and his close friends circle. It is precisely this, hard work and sense of belonging (togetherness) that will determines his future.
He is is looking for his own way, without being bound to somewhere, he can express himself and can achieve succesess in life. He will probably become a hairdresser, the kind that works with each persons hair as it was a piece of art. There will be ques to his shop. Famous and important people will be going to him, if he has more ambition he will end up in Berlin.
02
Balázs is a slick nice guy. He had a catholic upbrining, at home he always behaved respectfully and mannerly. He always longed to break free from this surrounding and become his own master. During college he was already planning his future business and considering opportunities. He is good at negotiating, he is convincing and a very good salesman.
For a couple of years he worked for a large company as a sales representative to gain experience and then he starts his own business together with a childhood friend. He is fully committed to the company and gives everything he has but his friend does not share his passion and gets out. (later he finds out that his friend tricked him financially. The friendship ends but he becomes wiser and more careful in the future.
03
Matyi has been into sports since he was a child. His father was an athlete until an injury ended his promising career. He put his hopes in his son and took him to play soccer. Matyi never considered becoming a professional earlier, even if had the talen. He did not not enjoy being in the locker room or the way the coach talked to him.
He loved the sport but did not want to become a pro, even if that was his fathers wish. Having said that he sees his future around sports. He would love to train young players, first as a coach, then as a manager, his journey leads him to sports diplomacy.
04
Tibor was born in the countryside, when he was in fifth grade he moved to the city where he continues his studies. He has broken away from his parents, he barley visits them anymore. He to be self reliant from an early age and this has formed him. He has a clear understanding of life, he as principles and is rigid. He likes works where he can relax, which does not require an effort but gives him an income. He also has a goal of finding a job which he can make well.
He has no big dreams, he wants to live a happy and balanced live where his job gives him a steady income. He will probably work at an optician as a salesman while he studies to become an optician himself. He leaves work everyday at four pm and goes home.
05
Marci has been interested about images, films, and moving pictures since he was a little boy. His parents did not care much about this. As he grew up his interests only became stronger. Marci could not tell if he was more interested in directing, editing or cinematography, so he tried all of them. Thanks to this he got a clear understanding about the process of filming. This made him more sensitive towards his work.
He has a unique style, way of seeing things. In the end he chooses to become a cinematographer, but would also like to direct one day.
06
Zalán has been talented in drawings since he was a child. He was born lefthanded but retrained to use his right hand in school. Perhaps because of this he has always felt that something is not right with him, that he is not good enough, that something is missing. Many people tell him that he is talented, but he is never satisfied with his work. His role model is a Swedish graffiti artist, his big dream is meeting with him one day, that’s why he is learning English more intensively.
He will experience self-realization in tattoos, although he draws a lot at home. He joins a rural tattoo parlor and builds his clientele there. He wants to work in a cool place once, but he hasn’t got enough dare to move up.
He is too comfortable to level up and actually he is happy there in the salon with his friends.
07
Peti is a bright guy. He is clever and has had a strong mind ever since childhood. Many people dislike him because of this, however this did not deterre him from consuming even more knowledge. He is a good kid, always helping others, trustworthy. He is not much of a talker. He rarely says anything but when he does so it is funny. He is beloved by the people around him. He began using a computer from a young age, but only got into programming at his early twenties.
He learned a couple of different programming languages, and since he is excellent at resolving problems, he became a programmer. He starts working for a large international company and he becomes a loyal worker for many years. He ultimately becomes a head of his department, but he always keeps two feet on the ground.
08
Andor is a laidback guy. He is tall and always played basketball for the school team. This is where he learned the value of teamwork, team spirit and the importance of collaborating with others.
He is open minded and wants to know more about the world he is in. His philosophy is that it is better to know a little about everything then a lot about few things.
He dreams of a job where he surrounded with people that at the same time gives him a certain type of freedom. Together with two of his friends he opens a bar in the downtown area. It is a hipster bar with a huge night life. Andor is the focal point of the place, he is everywhere, he knows everybody. He loves it, he travels far and wide, eats, drinks and gets inspiration for how he can make his own place better.
09
Palko is indomitable. He is one of a kind and his own master. He has a good relationship to everybody without being close. However, this does not concern him. He has a good sense of humor. He is not an emotional guy and keeps his feeling to himself. He is good with his hands, but not outstanding. His father was a dentist and Palko spent a lot of time in his office during his childhood. Perhaps this was the reason why he became a dental technician.
There are other people in the lab, each with their own workstation. When he does not feel like talking, he simply works and keeps to his own business. Sometimes he likes listening to the others, other times he gets lost in his own thoughts.
10
Sándor was called Sanyi in his youth, which he really hated. His hair was always shaved, his parents dropped him off at his grandparents every summer. It was his grandparents who gave him the nick name Sanyi.
Maybe this is the reason why he is unable to find himself. He is constantly experiencing an identity crisis. He is easily influenced by different ideas as he is open to everything new, because he is always searching. He has been everything at some point, a communist, a fascist, a revolutionary and counter-revolutionary, but he did not like any of them.
One thing is for sure, he is sensitive towards what he perceives as inequality in society. He could have gone astray and was close to losing it on several occasions. Eventually he found himself at the age of 34, when he became a social worker. He wanted to benefit the society and help people. (He never had a knack for politics.) He begins to work for a charity organization, he works on the street where he builds a strong connection to the poor, later he climbs the ladder.
11
Misi is a total mess, he is unable to concentrate on a single thing. His thoughts are confusing, he wants to do so many things at the same time, that he ends up not making a single thing properly. He is a thinker, and not a man of action. He hates exams which he finds too stressful, he feels that he never has enough time. He starts studying psychology, without any plans to become one.
The deadline of the admission for university drew closer and under the pressure of his parents he applied for a subject that he felt was close to him.
After graduating he does not know what to make of himself, so he starts working in his own profession. Following the advice of his mentor he begins to work in a small hospital, later he works at several different retirement homes. After the birth of his second child he starts his own practice in downtown Budapest.
12
Benedek is the youngest amongst three brothers, with the all the good and bad things that come along with being the youngest. He was never a leader; he is a follower. He never had any real convictions or own ideas; he prefers to follow others. When he is criticized, he is able to defend himself, he is not afraid, he just simply is not a leader.
Under the pressure of his family he becomes an economist, while in reality he is not passionate about his studies, but he is sure they will be good for something.
His first job is at a travel firm that his father suggested. He continues to work in a travel business ultimately changing his workplace only twice before opening his own business at the age of 45. He is forced to close his firm after one of his partners goes bankrupt. He lives of his wifes salary until he retires.
13
Zita was always a good student - she is from a good family. She is orderly and avoids conflicts. She is kind but has an average personality.
There are no great adventures in her life, she lives by the rules. After graduating she starts to work at Unilever as a marketing intern.
She climbs the ladder and after 16 years she becomes a senior marketing manager. Meanwhile she becomes the mother of two kids and changes her workplace to the Reckitt Benkiser. She finally becomes a vice CEO of marketing.
14
Natash’s mother is from Ukraine and met her father at the medical university. From this love Natasha was sprung. She always wanted to follow her parent’s footsteps and become a doctor. She could however not cope with the responsibility of life and death situations. She became a nurse. She graduated top of her class and could barely wait to start working at the Honvéd Hospital.
She was deeply disappointed with the circumstances of the Hungarian health care system, but decided, despite of this that she will continue to work hard and to inspire her colleagues.
After many hard years, some spent working abroad in foreign hospitals, she becomes the head nurse in a private clinic. She receives great professional recognition; she is beloved by her patients and her colleagues.
15
Greta's family always loved good music. Her grandmother often sung to her and Greta played the drums together with her father on the kitchen table on Sunday afternoons. She never considered that one day she will be a professional musician. From an early age she learned to play several instruments in school. Even so it was always her voice which was outstanding. Her teacher in the primary school started to be a mentor. She started with jazz, as she became old, she went over to blues, funk and then hip-hop. At this point she was already a great songwriter.
She never wanted to participate in talent shows, because she did not want her life to be tainted by fame and distractions. Instead she decided to build her own audience through social media. She toured the country with many bands. Music was part of her whole life and she became famous and recognized in her own country.
16
Brigi describes herself as a creative and thinking person. She is proud of her talents in crafts and her own ideas in her everyday life which are recognized by her family. She always wanted to be a graphic artist, but she hasn’t got enough contacts for that. She always missed the help of a mentor, but she really needed some income, so she finally became a do-all at a printing company in Szombathely. She was responsible for almost everything, her main role was organizing. In secret she always dreamt of being a graphic designer, but by the time her boss asked her to work as a graphic designer she tought her knowledge was obsolete.
And to be honest she did not have the courage to leave what she already knew. She found creativity in her everyday life and with her kids.
17
The whole world is but a stage… Kinga has wanted to be a professional actress since high school. She regularly visited different theatres. She knew all the actors by heart, she was in love with the stage. She worked a lot as an extra to get close to acting, she was admitted to the Acting University on her second attempt. She began her career at the Csiky Gergely theatre in Kaposvár. After 8 years she continued her career in Budapest.
She dedicated her whole life to acting, she played roles in several movies, she received recognition for her work on the stage.
She was beloved by the audience and she was compared to the great ones.
18
Ági’s life could have easily continued on the wrong path, when she was caught shop lifting in grade 3 of elemetry school. It was only a rubber, and she did it because of a bet to prove herself to her friends. She shouldn’t have done it, because she was shunned in front of the school. This came to have a deep impact on her life, as she learned that you have to work hard for all good things in life and that honesty is most important.
She felt that her experience gave her strength to make sure that future generations would not make her mistakes. As she was talented in fine arts, she became an art teacher. She grew to become more then an average teacher, she became a role model to her students. Outside her work she became an important part of the community and was always remembered fondly.
19
Emö is an only child, her parents had her at an old age. They always loved her very much but could not understand her. She was shy, she kept her emotions to herself. She kept a diary and sometimes spoke to herself in the daytime.
She was interested in many things, art, classical music and literature. She studied the albums and the books for hours. She was very literate, beautiful and smart. Even so she constantly refused the boys. She was never interested at having kids, she always wanted to work with art. She graduated at the esthetics department at the university and wanted to work in the national library, but there were no vacant positions. She tried several museums but there were no open positions.
She lived together with her parents for many years, she got to know her dutch husband on the internet. She moved to her 20 years older husband to Holland, and she managed to learn the language relatively fast. She became a housewife; she sang in the local church choir. She spent most of her times visiting museums.
20
Kata was an ordinary child from an ordinary family. Her parents raised her respectfully with her brother and they received much love and warmth at home. They often went trips during the weekend to the forest with the family and friends. During the summer they used to go around lake Balaton with bikes. Kata had a very happy childhood. After graduation from high school she started to study economic. She never wanted to be a regular employee like her parents. She was always looking for a way out. As a sensitive and creative person se decided that she wanted to work with something that was important to her.
She always felt that her cloths got in the way during cycling so she wanted to create clothes that would make it more comfortable to cycle. At first, she just sewed and designed cloths for herself but after receiving a lot of positive feedback she started her own brand. Her brand became famous all over the world and was sold in many western countries. For her freedom was finding the perfect balance between work and her family.
21
Zsuzsa has a very big heart. Because of this many take advantage of her. Throughout her life she is haunted by this fact. She wants to help everybody and she always ends up drawing the shortest straw.
Her self-respect and self-confidence is diminished overtime. She sourround herself with the wrong people. Her ambitions are lost, her husband treats her and the kids badly. To make ends meet she starts working with hard manual label. The work offers her an escape from her everyday life. All the traumas ends up making her stronger. After the sudden passing of her husband she finds herself again and the world opens up to her once more. The last 20 years of her life are the happiest.
22
Marcsi’s father was a fighter pilot. In accordance with this they always had strict rules at home. Everything had its place, and everything had its time. Marcsi was born into this, and she only realized that not everyone has this type of life and preciseness. Not everyone is reliable.
Learning was just another assignment for her that she had to do well. She was always an A student; she always studied the hardest.
She became a project manager. As an intern she already excelled with her precision, reliability and ability. She advanced quickly through the company, however there were some who disliked her cold manners.
She got a high position at the firm, but she has never reached the top. There was always somebody with a more human and empathic attitude that got the job.
23
Zoé was a mean child, but she became better as she became older. She was never asked twice to say something hurtful. She was autonomous, and she kept this ability throughout her life. She had a bright future in front of her as a ballerina until an injury ended her career. This accident made a lasting mark on her whole life and she has never recovered from it.
She became a fashion designer. Her unique style, her hard work and her social competence bore fruit. She could make a living out of her work. She had her own sewing company with 5 employees. She did not want more. She loved her work and took great pride in it.
24
Kriszti grew up on the shore of lake Balaton. She loves water, the wind and the nature. She says quite often that she is a child of nature. During high school she had a passionate life with great love and disappointments. She did not know where her life was heading.
To be safe she began studying economics in Pécs. Her happy life continued during university, after graduating she remained in Pécs and worked at a bank. She became stuck at her first workplace and never contemplated about doing something else. After a while she started missing the carefree lifestyle, freedom and happiness of her youth.
She has a happy marriage and has two children, she remains working at the same bank, ultimately becoming a branch manager before retiring.
