Sara Hodges Facial Recognition
Collection:UAL Art Collection
Date: 2020
Artist: Marcel Top (Belgian)
Dimensions:
100 x 100 x 5cm
Medium: Hahnemühle Photo Rag Metallic on Dibond
Object number: UAC 1022
See Also
DescriptionMarcel studied MA Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at London College of Communication. Starting from a question, “Is our fundamental right to freedom of expression being threatened?” Top starts to investigate mass surveillance in the United
States and addresses his own concerns over the safety of democracy in surveilled societies. With this project, he questions the current use of these technologies, finally exposing the possible threat they represent.
Sara Hodges is a non-existent, algorithm-generated, American citizen. To create this online fake persona, Top started by gathering over 50,000 Instagram posts that used the hashtag #iloveamerica (I love America). The online presence of this fictive persona ideally reflects the online presence of other ordinary people, who in the sight of surveillance technologies, represent the perfect American citizens. Starting from these posts, Top was able to analyse 17,000 Instagram profiles and collect all their posts (over 1.5 million images) to finally generate, through machine learning, new non-existing pictures.
States and addresses his own concerns over the safety of democracy in surveilled societies. With this project, he questions the current use of these technologies, finally exposing the possible threat they represent.
Sara Hodges is a non-existent, algorithm-generated, American citizen. To create this online fake persona, Top started by gathering over 50,000 Instagram posts that used the hashtag #iloveamerica (I love America). The online presence of this fictive persona ideally reflects the online presence of other ordinary people, who in the sight of surveillance technologies, represent the perfect American citizens. Starting from these posts, Top was able to analyse 17,000 Instagram profiles and collect all their posts (over 1.5 million images) to finally generate, through machine learning, new non-existing pictures.