myFACE
Laura A Dima
Laura A Dima My Face performance at Sexyland 008 high res – photo by Maarten Nauw copy
Art, Performance
performative installation, mass surveillance, (silicone)prosthetics, body horror, visceral, activist
Day: Friday, Saturday
Location: Theater de Nieuwe Vorst
Language no problem
myFACE

The performance involves performers who venture into public space, all wearing silicone face masks. Some masks appear to be identical to the artist’s face, while others include alterations and distortions. On their assigned route, the participants shoot videos and pictures with their smart phones. This content is swiftly uploaded to social media channels.

The objective of this action is to deceive the system, in a way that algorithms employed by social media platforms and potentially by CCTV cameras installed in public spaces may identify the artist as an individual subject simultaneously present in multiple locations. This creates a glitch-like effect, introducing fractures and multiplicities within the otherwise individualized subjective identity attributed to "Laura A Dima."

MyFACE performance actively contributed by collecting signatures for the "Reclaim Your Face" campaign, a European citizens' initiative aimed at banning biometric mass surveillance practices in the EU. "Reclaim Your Face" campaign was initiated by EDRi (European Digital Rights, Brussels) and Bits of Freedom in the Netherlands.