Traces and traceability in/of face. A semiotic reading through art

The chrono-topological coordinates of this text are distributed on a variable axis of contemporary art highly characterized by the interpenetration between the new media and socio-physiological human nature. Starting from the study of the general panorama of art and semiotic paradigms in relation to the face, and assuming them to be part of a polyphonic semiosphere, we can observe how some examples flourish from the tangible but often ignored traces left everywhere by humans during daily life, while others are totally imbricated in the face from which or in which they transpire. We have decided to typologize them in three varieties, giving examples of each, but focusing in two of them. The first is the case of Heather Dewey-Hagborg who, using hair, cigarettes and chewing gum of the streets, programs and builds 3D faces through the DNA found in them, and is thus associated with new forensic tendencies. Secondly, we briefly examine the artistic work of Jorit, a street artist who paints portraits characterized by the same facial sign - symbolizing belonging to a tribe - which, in 2020, he also engraved on his own face. The third type that emerges focuses on the isomorphism of name-face, and is exemplified by the work of Janez Janša, a performative socio-political program carried out in order to test, destabilize and re-organize in an innovative way parts of the cultural complexity. All offer a syncretic situation that can be analyzed by means of the semiotic approach, neurophysiological tools, and bio-anthropological resources.