Sarah Bennett installation at Exeter Collage of Art and Design, March/April 2012
Click on images for my thoughts and reactions to this exhibition.
Low quality images from employee photo identity cards have been scanned at a high resolution, enlarged and printed, creating a series of portraits revealing scratches that have been created by interaction with security systems at the workplace and damaged caused by carrying them in, a pocket, a purse, a wallet etc.
The visual representations of the employees have become a map or account of time (or time served) – the electronic data saved on their id cards remains intact. The recognizable features of the workforce have become faceless, leaving our natural verifier of a person’s identity (sight and recognition) irrelevant, the system is only interested in the number or the code identity of the individual.