Lynn Hershman Leeson fuses celebrity portraits in her Hero Sandwiches series to expose how gender and identity are constructed, starting with uncanny pairings like Marilyn Monroe and Freud. This interest in invented selves runs through her long career, from her alter ego Roberta Breitmore to early interactive media and chatbot-like works. Pieces like Synthia link identity to consumer data and surveillance, anticipating deepfakes and AI while asking what remains human.
