Family, Friends, and Acquaintances #6 (family), 2014 Archival inkjet print on paper, 39⅜ x 29½ in (100 x 75 cm)
Family, Friends, and Acquaintances #4 (family), 2013 Archival inkjet print on paper, 29½ x 39⅜ in (75 x 100 cm)
Family, Friends, and Acquaintances #12 (acquaintance), 2016 Archival inkjet print on paper, 39⅜ x 29½ in (100 x 75 cm)
Family, Friends, and Acquaintances #11 (acquaintance), 2014 Archival inkjet print on paper, 39⅜ x 29½ in (100 x 75 cm)
Family, Friends, and Acquaintances #9 (acquaintance), 2014 Archival inkjet print on paper, 39⅜ x 29½ in (100 x 75 cm)
Family, Friends, and Acquaintances
Family, Friends, and Acquaintances is a series of photographic portraits sourced from the Google Street View (GSV) archive. While many artists have made work employing the GSV archive few have approached it from a personal perspective. All the portraits in the series are of people that I know in some way. One may ask, how can one recognize people in GSV when faces are blurred to preserve the privacy and anonymity of the individuals photographed?
As mentioned above Google does make an effort to preserve the privacy of individuals photographed but I would argue that blurring faces alone does not preserve anonymity. There are other factors that allow for the identification of individuals such as hair color, tattoos, clothing, skin tone, and so on. With that said there are questions. Is one's privacy violated when photographed on Google Street View? What is our expectation of privacy when in public?