Images courtesy of the artistAs we walk down the street in any urban area, the possibility—nay, certitude—that we are being photographed or recorded in some capacity is widely understood in today's technological landscape. With facial recognition software and its scope advancing faster and faster (where it even affects our pets), it goes without saying that the ubiquity of public surveillance influences our personal privacy on a global scale. »Database«, an exhibition developed by David Ebner and Tobias Zimmer, is a 24/7 number-crunching machine designed to flip big data on its head by making it physical—and using it as the material for nuanced artworks.
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The information-gathering portion of »Database« is made up of three parts: a pair of openFrameworks-controlled cameras, a printer, and a paper shredder. The cameras are pointed at a walkway, recording the faces of passers-by and analyzing them with a recognition algorithm. This information is then sent to a continuous printer, which immediately prints images and data about the subjects as they walk by—just to be shredded moments later. The faces of every hour's past subjects, however, get composited and displayed on the installation's accompanying website, while all other digital records are deleted. Thus, the privacy of the project's unaware participants remains intact. Over the course of each day, the gallery is filled with huge amounts of paper and, simultaneously, manipulated, physical data.
The rationale behind this approach is outlined in the installation's description:"The surveillance of the general public and the corollary collection of data is increasing rapidly with the further development of today’s possibilities. It stands in-between the promise of safety and the urge to control. More and more public spaces are being pre-preemptively observed by surveillance cameras around the clock, just like data contents and consumer behavior in the digital world is saved, analyzed and evaluated. Corporations and governments are able to achieve a market and information advantage, which results in a concentration of power. The population is especially threatened through its lack of knowledge of the exact goings-on. Whether on the internet or in public spaces it is often not distinguishable if and by whom surveillance and data collection is being practiced."
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»Database« publicly documents the nuts and bolts of facial recognition—which governments and large corporations keep behind closed doors—and also refuses to catalog or monetize the information accumulation, in stark contrast with other entities that collect big data. Furthermore, the growing pile of physical, shredded data becomes the material for the second phase of the art project: a series of mixed and matched collages composed from the paper heaps.
By creating art from big data and surveillance, Zimmer and Ebner are turning the modern perception of a monitored society on its head. The goal isn't to discuss the dangers of a 'Big Brother' power, but to embrace the fact that—like all things—the issue has a grey area. It's not just about freedom vs. security, there's room for creativity and discourse within the processes, too.Below find some of the facial composites captured—and shredded—by Zimmer and Ebner at the University of Applied Sciences Trier in Germany, as well as a sneak peek at the final collages to be released this weekend.
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By creating art from big data and surveillance, Zimmer and Ebner are turning the modern perception of a monitored society on its head. The goal isn't to discuss the dangers of a 'Big Brother' power, but to embrace the fact that—like all things—the issue has a grey area. It's not just about freedom vs. security, there's room for creativity and discourse within the processes, too.Below find some of the facial composites captured—and shredded—by Zimmer and Ebner at the University of Applied Sciences Trier in Germany, as well as a sneak peek at the final collages to be released this weekend.
