Dávid Biró

In a world where is so many disinformations circulating around on the Internet and the media, it is a must to find a filter to distinguish the usable knowledge. We have to define a benchmark because the perceived and believed reality makes a difference. Nevertheless, photography and visual perception are in a similar inseparable condition as well. The photographic medium is not only the visual representation of the reality but the extension of the human vision. As every human perceive the world in a different way, the different photographic equipment does the same. So it is hard to talk about the reality and its definition because of its diversity. The only visual reliance is the colour reference chart, which helps to define a photographic image due to its determined construction. My obsession is to find points of reference in the real world which can be used to define the certain.

As ​part of everyday life, the rapid rise of digital technology has led to a number of challenges in our contemporary life. Whilst dream-like scenes created through technology have become increasingly convincing, it is hard to distinguish our conventional understanding of the “real” from new digital realities. This weight of information forces us to sharpen our perceptions in order to avoid digital distraction. For my project, I have constructed a series of photographic images inspired by the visuals of 3D graphics and video games to reveal the characteristics and influence of the digital medium. With their uncertain orientations, a question emerges as to whether what we see represents reality or is merely computer-generated.

There are only a few things, which we can consider so exclusively our own as our faces. One of the most basic elements of our identity is our most intimate, yet most public part. We barely ever cover this surface of our body, not even in public space, and in some countries, it is considered to be a crime to cover one’s face in particular spaces. Therefore it seems like it is our duty, to always be identifiable when we enter somewhere. But how far this duty of identification extends, and where does the monitoring of people change into illegal and authoritarian surveillance?

In his newest series, Do you accept cookies? Dávid Biró carefully examines the mechanism of face-recognition systems. The exhibition could hardly be more current, as the face is beginning to take on the role of fingerprint thanks to the latest technologies. More and more people are using phones that can be unlocked by face scanning, and cameras in the public space are increasingly using face detection for crime prevention and for law enforcement reasons.

For his newest series, Biró created face-imitating installations, in order to experiment on what the human eye recognizes as a face, and what appears to be a face according to the algorithm of mobile cameras as well. It is an interesting, instructive experience to examine these pictures through a camera of a mobile phone. And the montage consisting of typical sentences of the Privacy Policy by great tech-enterprises gives a great insight into how personal data has become the most valuable currency of the 21st century.

It is beyond doubt that the time has come for us to start dealing with our personal data much more carefully. Although we can decide to delete our profile from social media platforms, and not to accept cookies on websites, we cannot just simply log out from the face recognition system of public spaces.

Dávid Biró attempts to detect the blind spots of the technology of face recognition and to elude the system using various hacks. Meanwhile, he takes the ethical issue of observation and being the one who is observed into the discussion, which is unquestionably one of the most important dilemmas of our time.

(Text by Vanda Sárai)