The first thing a stranger will look at when they meet you for the first time is your face. The first judgment someone will make about you is your facial features and the characteristics attached to this. How we present ourselves has a huge impact on how others perceive us. Facial recognition not only has a huge impact on human to human encounters but also on human to digital/machine encounters as part of identification processes. This includes the identification of individuals through an assessment of facial features, fingerprint readings, and iris scans. No two forms of these identifications are the same thus our individualism is forever sacred.

​

As the earth’s population expands, there has become a need to categorise or at least identify certain individuals in times of necessity. Thus, technology has expanded to meet these demands.

A facial recognition system is a type of technology that identifies a person from a digital image or a video frame from a video source. Facial recognition systems work by comparing selected facial features from given image with faces within a set database.

This controversial form of technology has been expanding to greater uses over the past 10 years, with companies such as apple, google, and social media websites such as Facebook all using this technology.

With its expansive growth, the fear upon our privacy has grown, and as a result, artists have indulged in the ideas of creating anti-facial recognition products including the use of masks.

​

In November 2019 in Wuhan China, a new form of coronavirus more sophisticatedly known as SARS-COV-2 was identified and spread at an alarming rate across the city. This then spread throughout the country which as of 2020 caused one of the biggest catastrophes to hit the human race within the contemporary era. As over half a million lives have been claimed as of July 2020, a virtual component to protecting ourselves from exposures is to equip ourselves with PPE facial masks or coverings.

​

Between September 2019 to roughly February 2020 I indulged in the interests of facial recognition systems and the idea of creating some sort of wearable mask that functioned to trick algorithmic facial recognition systems while protecting the wearing from SARS-COV-2. But there were two key components I wanted to keep during the creation of these masks. The first being the conception that while one wears this mask, they would still be recognisable upon human to human encounters, but unrecognisable to any technological system that identifies a person through facial mappings. The other conception was how could a mask become a ‘normal’ attire, like a tie or a shirt thus not raising any concerns or ‘looking odd’ to wear when out in public or keeping up with everyday activities.

As living during a pandemic has now become part of our ‘normal’ lives, so has the necessary steps to help stop the spread of the virus including wearing masks or face coverings when social distancing cannot be performed. In response to this, my practice has grown. ‘Normal’ is a series of facial coverings or ‘masks’ that work by tricking facial recognition systems into thinking you are not human while also protecting the wearer from COVID-19.

 ‘ Now You See Me Acting Normal’ is both my response to the coronavirus outbreak as well as my own interpretation of masking from facial recognition. This is influenced by a variety of different artists who have participated in similar works as well as my own experiences and experiments with facial recognition, and the ongoing pandemic.

​

The aim of this blog is to document my ongoing experiments with my anti-COVID-facial-recognition masks. This includes running them through the best and well-known free facial recognition website 'Face ++'. This blog works as a visually based documentation. To read a full critical reflection and literature review on this project please click here.

​

Official project website