Trevor Paglen's facial recognition art at Manifesta 12 Palermo

At Manifesta 12 in Palermo, Trevor Paglen presents a micro-exhibition of ten small photographic prints and one large glass-plate image, exploring contemporary facial recognition technology. Paglen, born in Maryland in 1974 and based between New York, San Francisco, and Berlin, focuses on digital surveillance systems and military-derived technologies, having photographed the NSA headquarters in 2014. The exhibition traces facial recognition research back to the mid-1990s, initiated by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and earlier to the FERET database of thousands of military personnel photos. The technology is now used for mass surveillance in China, with 176 million cameras in public spaces; in Shanghai, jaywalkers are publicly shamed on screens and fined; in Beijing's Temple of Heaven, toilet paper theft is prevented; banks and airlines also adopt it. Paglen's works, displayed at Palazzo Ajutamicristo as part of the collective exhibition 'Out Of Control Room,' are mathematical abstractions that appear as realistic portraits.