FaceOrFactory (SI)
You, An Archive, 2021
FaceOrFactory is an art research platform which explores the structure and function of (human) faciality in contemporary society - how are cosmetic and plastic surgery industry, the history of (self)portraiture, digital surveillance and biometrical archives, biohacking and underground economy of genetic material, queer theory and queer-related practices shaping the face as a territory of power relations and political discourse? FaceOrFactory is formed around harvesting DNA samples, facial scans and personal data from donors that are thus becoming an integral art/building material of the project as well as members of the corporation FaceOrFactory, legally founded in order to create a proximity between a face as a biological mass of data and its financial value in corporative hyper-capitalism.
The gathered biological, digital and juridical information is layered and juxtaposed in order to formulate new artificial identities with their custom DNA background, opening a vast discourse on identity and its economic regulation, technological mythologies, genetic chimerism and possibilities of subversive tactics, using the language and practices of prevalent socio-political and economic structures. During the process, a face is gradually developed as a complex territory of genetic, juridical, cosmetic, political and military power relations. You, An Archive is an installation of a documentary nature that reveals the many layers of the project to the viewer through the selected archival material and video excerpts from Unstable Protocols, a video game and a curated tour of FaceOrFactory’s digital ecosystem.
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