<<

“Licna ? Karta” / “PERSONAL ? ID ? CARD”, digital video, 2002

                                                                     

   Society, State and institutions always tried to establish the identity of one individual. At the end of XIX century A. Bertillon established ID system on the basis of seven body-measurements, which has been improved with fingerprints, color of the eyes and photos (an-face and profiles). This illusion that personal identity exist as something definitive that can be established and “caught” was heat up by the computerization of whole ID system at the end of XX century, precisely one century after Bertillon has established it.

But, the same man that made ID system, Bertillon said about subjectivity of human eye:  “ One can see just what he looks, but one looks just what one have in mind.”  On the other hand, objectivity of photo-camera is instant and superficial. Even when photography was invented, there was no real dilemma whether it can take place in portraying, because, common opinion was that identity consists from layers (auras) and that photography can record only one of them. So, if purpose of identity card is, to identify person - any ID card based on photography, as a source for identification is from the beginning false, because, photo is referring on one particular moment and stage so it can 't be representative for the whole period of it’s validation. Digital video "PERSONAL ? ID ? CARD” 2002 problematizes purpose and validation of ID card. It consists of projection of my ID card with photo, which is slowly changing from one photo to another in an endless loop.  

“Beneath this mask, another mask, I will never cease carrying all these faces.”

“Sous ce masque un autre masque. Je n’en finerai pas de soulever tous ces visages.”

Claud Cahun